


Bloodlust

by ToxicTraitor



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Blood, Multi, References to Drugs, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 16:51:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11878740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicTraitor/pseuds/ToxicTraitor
Summary: Shun Kurosaki's life changes drastically when he is kidnapped and forced to become a Pet to Sora Shiun'in, the third highest ranking noble of the vampire political party known as the 'Circle'. As much as he wants to rebel and refuse to be Sora's Pet, Shun can't help but feel sorry for Sora and they slowly become friends. Shun, despite how much he fights it, ends up falling in love with Sora. By falling in love each other, Shun and Sora end up putting both their lives in danger as a romance being a vampire and their pet is highly illegal. In the end, Shun unknowingly uncovers a world of hidden secrets that mask Sora's true identity, secrets that could end up saving both their lives and give them both a happy ending.





	1. Give Me All Your Poison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fallen Angels you run with don't know, it is our pain that makes us all human after all.

Blood drips onto the table, splattering against the chestnut wood.  It pools, creating a small, ruby red puddle in the center of the table.  The knife in Shun’s hand is burning into his flesh, the pain is searing as it cuts deeper into Shun’s palm and fingers.  

          He doesn’t know how he ended up here.  His head is spinning and his stomach won’t stop turning.  He thinks that he’s been drugged or something, he can still taste the bitter bite of it in the back of his throat.  His vision is blurred and he can hardly make out any faces in the room.  He can hear them talking but he can’t understand a word.  It all sounds like mumbling to him.

          He doesn’t have a chance of escape.  His captors grab him, gripping his wrist so tight that he’s forced to drop the knife.  It clatters onto the table, splattering blood everywhere.  A boy, younger and rounder than Shun was, stood across the table from him.  He smiles delightedly as he runs his fingertip through Shun’s blood and then up to his lips.

          “Are you pleased, Master Sora?” a voice in the room asks.

          The young boy nods. “His blood is sweet,” he beams. “He’ll be perfect.”

          Shun’s stomach turns.  He has to fight the urge to gag.  He’s losing so much blood that he knows he’s close to passing out.  His knees buckle and he drops to the floor just as he feels the sharp prick of another needle in his neck.

 

***

 

When Shun comes to, he thinks he’s back home for just a split second.  He feels blissful for that fraction of a second right before the panic sets back in again.  The ceiling above him isn’t the off-white he had back home.  It’s more of a maroon.  Even the bed feels different, it’s so much softer than his old lump of a mattress.

          There’s no humming in the kitchen as Ruri made them both breakfast or the sound of birds singing as they ate from the birdfeeder outside Shun’s window.  Instead, it’s dreadfully lonely and quiet.  

          Shun sits up in bed so fast that his head spins.  His hand burns, reminding him of whatever had happened last night.  Was this some kind of satanic cult?  Sure, Shun didn’t hang out with the ‘right’ crowd but he was pretty sure that he wasn’t playing poker with any cultists.

          “Oh good!” a voice squeaks happily, “You’re finally awake.  I was getting bored waiting for you.”

          It takes Shun’s still muddied brain only a second to remember those green eyes.  His hands turn into fists automatically, burning red hot when his nails bite into the bandages that covered the knife wounds.

          “Oh,” Sora tilts his head to the side. “You look mad.”

          “Where am I?” Shun demands, angrily.

          “My home, our home,” Sora explains and sighs. “I guess you really are clueless, aren’t you?”

          “Clueless?”

          Sora rolls his eyes and shakes his head, “You’re my new Pet.  It’s official.  You signed the papers last night.  Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten by now?”

          The word ‘Pet’ echoes in Shun’s head.  It’s so out of place for this situation.  That was what you called a cat or a dog.  Some people even considered lizards or birds to be pets.  Shun fit into none of those categories.  He was a human.  Humans weren’t considered pets.

          Sora sighs, as if this is the hundredth time he’s had to explain this, “Do you know what I am or are all humans in your world really that ignorant?”

          Shun squints at Sora.  He doesn’t look special.  Aside from his clothes that looked higher quality than a man like Shun could ever afford with his shelf stacking job, he looked like nothing out of the ordinary.  Maybe he was smaller than the usual person his age.  He looked more like a child than what Shun assumes must be his late teens.

          Shun regresses to using sarcasm as a defence, “Let me guess,” he rolls his eyes. “You’re a spoiled brat that can’t get laid so your rich father paid to have someone drag me in here to get you off.”

          Sora’s face turns a shade of light pink, “No!” he huffs, “You humans really are stupid!  No wonder vampires are so much further advanced than you all.”

          Vampires?  The word has Shun’s stomach sinking.  

          Vampires have existed for nearly as long as the human race had.  Shun’s read a few articles about it here and there.  They were a race that were created through human evolution.  When food had been too scarce, some humans decided to kill and drink the blood of others to survive.  In the end, those humans had evolved into what people referred to as vampires.

          There were so many myths that came along with the term.  Vampires are allergic to the sun, vampires have no reflection, vampires never appear in photographs…  All of them were false.  Made up to put the human mind at ease.  Vampires roamed the street alongside humans, never revealing their true identities to anyone.  They fit in so easily, you could never tell unless you caught them in the act of feeding.

          Shun racks his head, trying to remember more.  He’s read of crime rings that kidnap humans to sell as food for vampires.  They had blood labs where they’d treat you just like humans treat cows when they’re farming for milk.  Blood Farms had always been a threat.  There were hundreds of PSAs to warn the public to be careful.

          This doesn’t sound like a Blood Farm to Shun.  This was something much worse than being treated like a cow until they drained you dry.  Pet…  Shun was sold as a Pet to a vampire.  He was sold as a slave… A Pet…  Shun’s not sure which term is worse.

          “I can see those gears turning,” Sora tilts his head to the side again. “You actually have a brain up there.  I thought I got a dud for a minute there.  You had me worried.”

          Shun feels sick.  His stomach is turning, doing back flips and ollies, “Pet?”

          Sora nods excitedly, beaming. “You weren’t too off with your sarcastic comment.  My father did buy you for me.  You’re my 18th birthday present.  My very own Pet to love and feed on.”

          “I’m not your pet,” Shun half growls.

          “You are,” Sora stands firm, “You signed the papers in your own blood.   Don’t the wounds on your hand ring any bells.”

          “I don’t care if I signed anything,” Shun argues, “I don’t remember any of it.”

          Sora’s eyes narrow.  He crosses the room, taking Shun’s wounded hand and un-bandaging it. “What are these from, then?”

          Shun barely remembers much of anything anymore.  The memories are so fuzzy, like the mittens that Ruri had hand-knitted for him for his birthday two years ago.  He remembers the knife in his hands, a piece of paper, Sora’s green eyes and blood, so much blood until the red muted all the emerald green.

          Shun tugs his hand back, cradling it to his chest, “You drugged me,” Shun remembers, “That’s hardly consent.”

          Sora lifts his eyebrows, “Consent?” he asks like it’s his first time hearing the word.

          “I didn’t sign you over my life,” Shun argues, “You took it from me.  It’s like stealing.”

          Now it’s Shun’s turn to watch the gears turn in Sora’s head, “Stealing?” Sora mumbles, “I’m not stealing from you.  I’m giving to you.  You get to live here with me, isn’t that nice?”

          Shun feels like he’s explaining something to a two-year-old that has just taken a cookie from someone’s cookie jar, “Let me go,” Shun demands, “I want to go home to my family.  I don’t belong here.”

          Sora looks so offended, it’s like Shun had just insulted his entire being. “No,” Sora argues, “You’re mine now.  You signed the contract.  There’s no going back anymore.  You’re mine until the day you die.”

          Shun’s hand trembles as it turns into a fist.  The bandages are gone and in Shun’s anger, he’s managed to break open the wounds again.  Blood begins to drip to the floor before it registers in Shun’s mind that he’s in the room with a vampire.  Bleeding was the last thing that he could want in this situation.

          Sora stares at his bleeding hand with open curiosity.  He takes Shun’s hand, staring at it intently. “I can fix it,” he mumbles mostly to himself. “Let me fix it.”

          Sora doesn’t bother to wait for a response before he licks the bloody wounds.  Shun flinches at the initial sting, wanting to push Sora away.  He tenses at the pain before he relaxes as the pain subsides into a warmer, soothing sensation.  He feels like he’s been drugged again, like whatever Sora was doing was making him feel a little high in the same kind of way that cough syrup helped him sleep through a cold.

          It takes a moment for Shun to come back to his senses.  He tries to pull his hand away, but Sora doesn’t let go.  He licks the wounds again, his warm tongue swiping across the raw skin, before he gives Shun his hand back.

          “There,” Sora sighs, licking his lips of blood, “All better.”

          Shun stares at the wounds on his hand.  They turn from an angry, fiery red to a soft pink to invisible lines right before his eyes.  It’s like a magic trick that wasn’t really a trick, it was true magic.

          Sora beams at Shun, “Vampire venom can heal wounds,” he smiles. “It excites your hormones and helps you heal.”

          Shun’s too shocked to really think straight.  His anger subsides as he’s thrown completely off guard, all he can do is mumble a small, confused thank you.

          “I’ll let you rest for the rest of the day,” Sora bounces towards the door. “The servants will bring you dinner later and prepare you for bed.  Then tomorrow we can start to have some fun.”

          Shun doesn’t get a chance to ask what the word ‘fun’ meant before Sora has left and shut the door behind him.  He doubts anything that Sora had in mind would be any fun at all.

          Shun shakes his head and crawls back into the bed.  He’s still hoping that this is somehow all a dream, caused by too much cold medicine or bad fish from that cheap sushi place he and Yuuto had gone to sometimes.  Maybe going back to sleep would solve all his problems.


	2. Give Me All Your Pills

Shun gets woken up by the sound of knocking at his door.  For a blissful moment, he thinks he’s back home with Ruri and that she’s calling him for dinner.  That warm happiness is shattered the moment the door opens and the woman behind it isn’t his beloved little sister, but instead, an older woman dressed in maid attire.

         “I’ve brought you your dinner,” she says without any greeting. “Master Sora will be feeding from you soon so you’ll need to eat up.”

         Shun glares at the older woman, “He will definitely  _ not _ be feeding from me,” he says firmly, “I’m  _ not _ his pet.”

         The woman rolls her eyes, “You’ll give in,” she says as she lays a tray of food on the small round table in the corner of the room. “So you better eat or else you’ll get sick.  Believe me, you don’t want to have to see the house doctor.”

         “What are these?” Shun asks as she hands him a paper cup of medication and a glass of cold water.

         “Vitamins, minerals and something to promote blood production and circulation.  You won’t need to take those after Master Sora begins to feed from you regularly.  His venom will do that naturally.”

         She leaves without another word.  Shun, despite how badly he wants to rebel against this whole thing, is too hungry to ignore the spread on the tray.  It looks appetizing, too appetizing for a vampire to have made since they never ate human food willingly, it must have been prepared by human hands.  So the cook and the maid both must have been human.

         Shun eats everything he’s given.  All aside from the supposed ‘vitamins and minerals’.  He rolls the pills around in his hands, trying to decide whether or not to take such suspicious-looking drugs.  He opts out of it, tossing them into the fireplace to burn.

 

***

 

Shun is woken up the next morning by the bed shaking beneath him.  At first, he thinks it must an earthquake or something even more serious like a house fire.

         “Wake up, my Pet,” Sora beams as he jumps up and down on the mattress. “I want to give you a tour around my home.”

         Shun can hardly believe that his life has come to this.  How did he end up as the Pet of this bratty child?  He decides to blame this on his manager for another late shift on the cash register.  Maybe that would give him some peace of mind, despite how hopeless it felt to find any peace anymore.

         “Leave me alone,” Shun grumbles, pulling the blanket over his head.

         Sora plops down, pulling the blanket off Shun.  He straddles Shun and pouts, “Come on,” he whines, “Let’s go exploring.”

         Shun blushes furiously at the way that Sora’s hips are touching his own.  He can’t help it, his mind wanders to embarrassing thoughts of dirty things that make Shun blush in shame.  The red in his cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed for long.  Sora smirks, leaning closer to Shun’s pink face.

         “Hey,” he teases, “Why are you blushing?  Do you want me to take a bite of you?” 

         “No,” Shun mutters, “I want you to get off of me.”

         Sora’s smirk fades into a pout. “Aww, but I got you a special present.  Don’t you want it?”

         “No,” Shun huffs, pushing Sora off of him.  He stands up, brushing his clothes as if he can brush away Sora’s annoying presence. 

         Sora sighs, rolling over on Shun’s new bed like a bored cat, “Who is this Ruri?  Is she your sister?”

         Shun’s blood freezes cold in his veins at the mention of his beloved baby sister, “What do you know about her?”

         Sora’s smirk makes its return triumphantly. “I have a newspaper article right here in my pocket for you.  I’ll trade you, you have to explore with me if you want to see it.”

         Shun’s lips twitch with every, single, dirty word he wants to say.  Instead, he holds his hand out and says quietly, “Deal.”

         Sora smiles, handing him the paper.  It’s small and folded up like a letter.   

         A Pet, a Mutt.  How degrading.  Shun had been human, a human with a long future ahead of him.  He had been a human with a sister that he loved and missed more than anything.  He had been a human that almost had his college degree.  

         Now his degree was his name and Sora’s signed onto a piece of paper, binding them even closer than marriage.  Now he was a Pet, a human plaything for his vampire master to enjoy to his heart’s content and until his stomach was full.

         Now he had no sister, as far as she knew, he was dead.  The newspaper article in his hand had his school picture with his name printed neatly underneath it.  Shun Kurosaki, 20 years old, missing, no leads, possibly caught in a crime ring.

         Shun knew he hadn’t been a saint in his human life, but really, a crime ring of all things?  He deserved more than that.  At least they could’ve used a better picture then his senior year photo.

         Of course, Shun Kurosaki was not about to degrade himself to being a vampire’s chew toy.  He would absolutely not sink that far, no way in Hell.

         “I’ll let you see your sister again,” Sora suggested, wearing a premature victor’s smirk.  

         Damn.  It had been less than a day but Sora already knew his number one weakness.  He couldn’t say no, not when it meant that he could see Ruri again.  He needed to, at least once, just to let her know that he was alive.

         “No,” Shun growled, stubbornness getting the better of him again.

         “How bad can it be?” Sora pursed. “I’m not asking for much.”

         “You’re asking me to be your own personal blood bank.  That’s more than ‘much’.”

         “Trust me,” Sora beams, his sharp teeth glistening, “You’ll enjoy it.”

         “I doubt it,” Shun argues, glaring at the tiny vampire.

         Sora shrugs. “Either way, you’ve already made a deal with me.  Let’s go exploring,”

         “Fine,” Shun agrees.  At least this would give him a standing chance to find a way to escape and run away.

         Sora leads him down the corridor, pointing at different rooms and naming them.  One is a study, another is a library, one leads to the dining hall, others are guest rooms or staff rooms.

         “This one is my father’s,” Sora stops at an ornate wooden door. “He’s never here though.  My room is just across from it.  You can come visit me here whenever you want.  I have video games in there too, all kind of fun ones.  We can play together, no one ever plays with me but now I have someone to.”

         They continue on their ‘tour’ of the mansion for another few minutes before Sora stops suddenly.

         “I’m hungry,” he complains.

         Shun’s heart sinks.  Great, he should have known this would happen.  He doesn’t have a chance to argue before Sora has taken his hand.  Sora leads him a little further down the hall before he leads Shun through a huge doorway.

         “This is the kitchen,” Sora says excitedly. “It’s time to eat.  You must be hungry too.”

         Sora leads Shun to where a small bar and stools await.  He hops on one of the stools, kicking his feet in the air like a child, “The chef will feed us soon,” he beams. “I’m starving.”

         Shun hesitates to sit on the stool next to him.  He doesn’t trust this vampire.  He was far too sweet-looking to be anything trustworthy.  He does, anyway, choosing to keep the distance of another stool in between them.

         When the chef comes, he brings Shun what looks like a full breakfast.  It looks delicious but what Shun sees next has his stomach twisted into a knot.  He’s lost all his appetite.

         What Sora has in his hands is a glass filled with a ruby red liquid.  It looks so out of place.  Shun’s brain keeps trying to convince him that it’s just fruit juice but the metallic scent in the air is enough to shatter that lie.  Sora drinks the blood through a twisty straw, as if none of this fazes him.

         Of course Shun knows it doesn’t.  Sora was a vampire, this was normal to him.

         “Are you okay?” Sora asks, “You aren’t eating.  Are you sick?”

         “Is that blood?” Shun asks, despite knowing that it’s hopeless and useless to wish that it weren’t blood.

         Sora nods, “It’s not very good.  I like yours better.  It’s fresher, warmer and sweeter.”

         Shun wants to gag. “You’re sick.”

         “Sick?” Sora blinks.

         Shun shakes his head as he gets up to leave.  He can’t stand to sit here and watch this.  He walks away, hoping that he’ll find his way back to his room.  Maybe there was a window he could climb out of to leave.

         Sora doesn’t try to stop him, which leaves Shun feeling confused.  He thought that Sora would chase him down for sure.  He ends up back at his room, where he sulks for the rest of the day.  He runs through different scenarios in his head.  He thinks he remembers the hallways enough.  He could try to run but where would he go?

         Like it or not, Shun is realizing that escape was more than beyond reach.  Even if he could run, chances are that he will be tracked down.  He’s more than just a vampire’s pet, he’s a liability.  He already knows too much.  He’s learnt of a black market that can’t take any risks in letting the human public know about them.

         Dying would be better than torture, Shun thinks.  He would much rather die than become a blood bag.  He would much rather die but if he tried to run, they’d go after Ruri.  Sora knows her name, he could find her so easily.  Shun  can’t risk her life, he would much rather suffer than risk his only family.

         He could leave, but he shouldn’t.  There’s too much at stake to leave.  

         He’s not sure how many hours have passed, but judging by the way his stomach growls, it’s probably mid to late evening.  He knows he should have eaten something, he should have just eaten breakfast this morning when he had the chance.  

         The knock on the door is startling after a long, quiet day.  The only reason that Shun opens it is the hope for food to fill his complaining stomach.  Instead, he gets met with Sora’s round, green eyes staring up at him.

         “My father is here,” Sora mumbles, he sounds almost half-panicked.  It’s such a difference from his playful nature earlier this morning, “He wants to meet you.”

         Shun can’t help but roll his eye., “Oh, lovely…”

         “Please,” Sora whimpers, “I don’t want to make him hate me more, just let me introduce you and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the night.”

         Shun shakes his head. “Fine,” he mutters, giving in again. “But only if I can get dinner afterwards.”

         “Of course,” Sora promises.

         Shun follows the tiny vampire back out into the hallway and down further than they had gone just that morning.  Sora leads them to an engraved, ornate door, with symbols of flowers and what looks like gentle fairies entwined in them. 

         Sora take a deep breath before he knocks.  Shun hears a deep, man’s voice answer, allowing them both in.  Sora looks up at Shun, almost as if he were asking for strength, before he pushes open the door.

         What Shun sees leaves him feeling as if he had just walked in on a couple having the most intimate of moments.

         There’s a woman sitting in a man’s lap, her shirt half unbuttoned, exposing her braless chest and more skin than Shun could feel comfortable with staring at.  The man’s hand is up her skirt but the most shocking image is what looks like a lover’s kiss on her neck.  Except, it isn’t a kiss… That man is drinking her blood.

         She groans to herself, although to Shun, the groaning sounds more like the moans of pleasure rather than moans of agony.  Her face and body language all say one thing, that she is enjoying herself.

         The man drops her, pushing her off his lap and onto the luxury sofa they were seated on.  He pulls a white handkerchief from his pocket and presses it to his lips.  When he pulls it away, it’s stained ruby red with blood.

         “Father,” Sora greets.  His voice sounds somber, it’s so much more quiet and reserved than it had been this morning. “This is my Pet.  His name is Shun.”

         The man’s eyes drift up to gaze at Shun.  Shun swallows as he feels his stomach drop to his feet.  Sora’s father has such an intimidating presence, he could understand Sora’s sudden jittery nerves.

         “He’s…,” the man pauses, “Crude-looking.”

         Shun wants to roll his eyes.  Was that what he called it?  Of course Shun had never had much of a fashion sense but honestly, it was rude to hear.

         “He just got here,” Sora defends, “I haven’t had time to get him cleaned or checked by the doctor.”

         The man’s face falls, “You should have done all of those today.  I told you that I was going to visit today.  You should have made preparations.  You’re carrying our family name, our family legacy.  Your Pet must look decent.”

         “I’m sorry, Father,” Sora whimpers.

         “Stop your whining,” the man snaps at Sora. “It’s bad enough that you have a Mutt for a Pet.  Do you know how degraded I feel?  You have to fix him by the time I retire.”

         “That’s only a week away,” Sora panics.

         “Get it done,” the man demands. “Now leave.  I’m in the middle of feeding.”

         Sora nods quietly before he ushers Shun out the door along with him.  He stands there for a moment, taking in what had just happened, before he begins to lead Shun down the hallway to where the kitchen was located. 

         “You can eat whatever you want,” Sora mumbles, sounding dazed, “I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the night, like I promised,”

         Shun can’t help himself, his older brother instinct kicks in, “Will you be okay on your own?”

         Sora shrugs his shoulders, “I guess.” 

“Come…” Shun pauses, not sure how to word it without it sounding like he was inviting Sora to nibble his neck. “Come watch me eat.”

         What Shun says seems to perk Sora up a bit.  He smiles a little and there’s more spring in his step again.  Shun ends up eating a delicious dinner with his so called ‘Master’ sitting there, going on about video games and cartoons.  

         For a moment, just a single moment, Shun forgets that Sora is a vampire.  That false reality is shattered when the light catches the tips of Sora’s sharp teeth.  Dangerous… Sora was dangerous, Shun couldn’t allow himself to lose sight of that.


	3. Give Me All Your Hopeless Hearts

Shun wakes up the next morning feeling dazed.  He still hopes that this is all a very bad dream and that he’ll wake up to Ruri making breakfast in the kitchen.  He misses her so much.  He worries about her whenever they’re apart and now he can never see her again.  All he can do is hope and pray to any God that would listen, to please take care of her.

          When Sora comes for him in the morning, Shun doesn’t have the energy to argue with him.  Sora takes him down the hall for breakfast and they eat together.  Shun has to concentrate solely on the food in his plate rather than the sickeningly red liquid in Sora’s cat-shaped mug.

          “Today is the day you get shots,” Sora says as he takes another sip from his mug.  The bottom of it is decorated with a cat nose and whiskers, giving off the illusion that Sora is part feline whenever he takes a sip.

          “I don’t want any,” Shun mutters, poking his fork around his eggs.

          “Too bad,” Sora frowns, “It’s so that neither of us gets sick,”

          Shun grumbles under his breath about how Sora is already sick but Sora either doesn’t hear it or he chooses to ignore it.

          “I’ll hold your hand if you want,” Sora says brightly.

          “Don’t touch me,” Shun huffs.

          Sora frowns as if he’s been hurt and it makes Shun roll his eyes.  So he hurt that brat’s feelings, Sora hurt him much worse by keeping him here like this.

          “I got you a present,” Sora changes the subject.

          “Is it the sweet release of death?  Oh, you got me exactly what I wanted,” Shun mocks.

          “No,” Sora frowns as he removes a box from the inner pocket of his coat.  The box makes a suspicious jingling sound and Shun has to grind his teeth to stop the shudder going up his spine.

          A collar, a collar with a bell.  It was something Shun had only seen cats wear.  Even dogs wouldn’t wear something so degrading.  

          “Put it on,” Sora suggests, his voice pleading, “Please, you have to,”

          Shun wants to smack the collar from his hand.  He wants to crush the bell beneath his shoe.  He wouldn’t allow himself to be degraded in such a way.

          Of course, Shun was weak.  Sora stares at him with eyes too round and his lips curled downwards.  The tears in his eyes are what pushes Shun over the edge.  

          “F-fine,” Shun mumbles, “I’ll play along with your stupid kink if you’ll stop looking at me like that,”

          He lets Sora buckle the collar around his neck.  Sora smiles, jingling the bell with a giggle that makes Shun blush.  Stupid vampire…

          Sora has already melted through some of Shun’s defensives and he seems to have realized that.  Sora uses Shun’s weakest moment to drag him to the small doctor’s office on a floor and down a hallway that Shun hasn’t seen yet.

          The doctor there is a vampire, Shun is sure of it.  Now that he is here, it an entire mansion full of vampires, he can spot the differences.  It is there in the glint of their eyes and the sharpness of their teeth.  This man is a vampire.

          He gives Shun a set of shots without flinching once.  He doesn’t seem to even really care.  He does one after another, not once breaking his concentration or composure.  He doesn’t it without any empathy.

          The rest of the day is gone for Shun.  The contents of the shots are enough to knock him out until the next morning.  He barely remembers Sora taking him to his room and to his bed.  He thinks, although he’s not sure, that Sora stayed with him and petted his head while he slept.

          “Good morning,” Sora greets sleepily when Shun finally wakes up from the haze of new drugs.

          He panics for a moment, wondering what had happened last night.  The memories come sinking back in slowly.  Flu shots, vitamins, and blood production promoters were pumped into his veins, one after another until Shun had lost consciousness.

          “Don’t worry,” Sora mumbles, “I didn’t bite you.  I just got really sleepy and fell asleep with you,”

          Shun has the ability to spot a liar from a mile away, so he knows that in this case, Sora was being truthful.

          “Why not?” Shun asks, genuinely curious.  Sora had all the chance he wanted to have last night.

          “Umm… It was because of that thing you mentioned… About consent,” Sora tilts his head to the side as he speaks, “I wanted to ask you first,”

          “Why?  You’re my _Master,_ ” Shun spits the last word, “You could kill me anytime you want, drink my blood anytime you want.  I’m nothing but your powerless _Pet_ , remember?”

          Sora’s face falls, “You’re my friend now too,” he mutters in defense.

          “When have I ever been your friend?” Shun asks.

          “Since…,” Sora begins, “Since you’ve been nice to me,”

          Shun rolls his eyes.  He isn’t sure what ‘nice’ means to Sora but he highly doubts that he’s been nice to the small, vampire.

          Sora moves then, sniffling, to scrub at his eyes.  It’s only then that Shun realizes just how painfully close they are.  They’re chest to chest, with only Sora’s hands acting as a barrier between where their hearts were resting.  Shun feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up and his heart begin to race.

          He is lying in bed with a vampire.

          He pulls away, moving to put as much space between them as the mattress will allow.  Shun turns his face away, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up his neck.  Being that close to Sora, whether he were a vampire or not, it was enough to leave Shun feeling a little breathless.

          Sora smirks a little, “Wait… Do you want me to bite you?”

          “No, of course not,” Shun objects.

          “Come on, I saw the way you stared at my father when he was feeding from his Pet.  You’re curious,”

          Sora is right.  Shun has been having flashbacks of that scene.  He keeps thinking of the way that woman had writhed and moaned, as if it had been the most pleasure she has ever experienced in her life.  He’s curious, curious enough to consider letting Sora feed from him.

          “I’ll be gentle,” Sora offers again.

          Shun hesitates but ultimately, he agrees.  At this point, he doesn’t have much left to lose.  He can’t leave, no matter how much he wants to.  Sora would either have to kill him or drink his blood.  If Shun could maybe feel some kind of pleasure from letting Sora bite him, then it was worth the risk.

          It takes all of Shun’s willpower to sit completely still when Sora moves to straddle his lap.  He glares up into the vampire’s green eyes, fighting back the urge to knock that smile clean off his face.

          Sora licks his lips as he reaches down to grab Shun’s collar.  He jerks it aside, revealing more of Shun’s pale shoulder.  He hums happily to himself as he leans in to press his lips into the smooth curve of Shun’s shoulder.

          His skin is so soft, so warm.  Sora can feel the steady pulse beneath it, strumming unsteadily as Shun’s heart broke out into a sprint.  Sora runs his tongue across Shun’s skin, laughing quietly when Shun flinches a little.

          He presses his teeth lightly into Shun’s skin, teasing him lightly before he sinks his teeth in deeper.  He feels Shun jump slightly at the brief flash of pain before his body relaxes under Sora’s fingertips as the hormones in Sora’s venom began to kick in.

          Shun moans quietly, leaning his head back.  His body feels so hot and his heart sprints into overdrive.  He moans again quietly before Sora breaks away, finally.

          Sora wears a satisfied smirk across his face, tinted at the edges with Shun’s blood.  Sora licks his lips again, collecting the excess blood with the tip of his tongue.

          “Hmm,” Sora purses, “It looks like you enjoyed that, huh, Shun,”

          Shun can’t answer.  He doesn’t want to admit it, but it had felt good.

          Sora leans in again, taking in another taste before he licks the wound closed, “You taste so sweet,” he murmurs, “I want more,”

          Shun is half tempted to dare Sora to bite him again, but he wouldn’t give Sora that satisfaction, “What was that?” he asks, trying to sound upset but instead his voice shakes.

          “What?  That thrill you felt?” Sora smiles and taps against his teeth. “Vampires have special kinds of hormones.  They make your blood pump faster.”

          Shun can still feel the blood pumping hot and fast in his veins.  It was almost… The only thing it could remind Shun of was the few times he had slept with his ex-girlfriend when they were together.  

          It felt like that same rush, the same thrill he had felt when she had touched him.  It was the same heat, the same blinding haze that enveloped his mind and made it hard to think straight.  

          His heart is racing, begging for more, for another bite, hard and rough into his skin until he bled again.  He wants to feel the swipe of Sora’s tongue against his skin, eating up all the evidence of the sick, sinful feeling he felt in his stomach.

          Sora laughs lightly as he tries to read Shun’s expression, “I told you that you would enjoy it.”

          “Don’t make a habit of out of,” Shun mutters. “I won’t let you drink from me whenever you want.”

          “Stubborn,” Sora sighs, shaking his head, “You’ll learn.”  


 

***

 

Shun can’t stop thinking of Sora’s bite.  He thought of Sora’s teeth, sharp and painful, cutting deep into him and making him gasp in pain.  He thought of that rush that he had felt and of the blood being drained from his body.

          It’s hard to get around.  He thinks about it constantly.  It feels like he’s taken a hit of heroin and now he’s addicted to it.  He thinks about it all night and all day.  It feels like a disease.

          He almost wants Sora to bite him again.  He wants Sora’s fingers pressed into his shoulders as he drank him dry.   He wants… he wants to feel that heat again, that horrible, unsettling rush in his veins that made his head spin in circles.

          Shun feels sick and disgusted with himself.  How had he let a vampire make him feel this way?

          It’s harder when Sora is around, since the temptation is within reach.  The little vampire seemed to be around him constantly now.  It had gotten to the point that Sora climbed into his bed when it was time to sleep.

          Shun wouldn’t admit it, but he kind of liked having Sora sleep next to him.  Even if he was a vampire, the unholy child of the devil and an archangel, Shun liked the company.  He had always been a loner his whole life, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t crave having someone around.  In a place as lonely as this huge, old mansion, having someone around was comforting.

          Some nights, Shun found himself stroking Sora’s head as he slept.  He doesn’t know what it is, but mostly, he thinks he misses Ruri.  He misses having her around.  He misses having someone to nurture.  

          Sora would fidget in his sleep.  Sometimes he’d wake up in tears.  A few careful, gentle strokes on his head always sent him back to a more peaceful sleep.  Some mornings after a particular bad night, Shun would wake up with Sora snuggled into his chest.

          Shun doesn’t know what to do at this point.  He wants to kick himself.  He feels like he might be going soft on the devilish creature, but he can’t stop himself.  Ruri always did say that he had a soft heart underneath a crunchy exterior.

          To make things worse than they already are, Sora comes to him with a surprise one day.

          “Shun, tomorrow we’re going to an important social gathering,” he says, as serious as Shun has ever seen him.

          Shun laughs dryly, “I’m not going to a ‘social gathering’.”

          Really… What made Sora think that he would want to go?  Shun had always tried his best to avoid social contact.  He’d bike the long way to school just to avoid having to see anyone he knew.

          Sora smiles, ignoring Shun’s pessimism. “This is my father’s official retirement from office,” he says. “It’s also my official coronation into office.  It’s a big day from me, so you have to behave.”

          “Why should I?” Shun asks, rebellious.

          “Because…,” Sora begs, “I need you to.  I can’t afford to mess up again.  My father is already ready to disown me.”

          “You took me from my home.  Why should I care if you lose yours?” Shun counters.

          “Please, Shun?  I need you there with me.  I need to be able to feed.”

          “Bring your blood packs.”

          “They won’t last that long outside!  If you don’t go, I’ll starve!” Sora’s voice brims with panic.

          Sora stares up at Shun with big round eyes that make Shun feel weak.  He wasn’t soft, he wasn’t soft…  He wasn’t…

          He was…  He was softer than a cotton candy cloud.  The next morning, he’s trapped on a long car ride with Sora.  

          “Look at all the pretty buildings,” Sora gazes out the window.

          “You act like you never see them.”

          “I don’t, not unless I go on trips like this,” Sora explains, pointing at a tall skyscraper. “I bet people look like ants from up there!”

          “Yeah,” Shun mumbles.  

          Sora has a way of catching him off guard in the strangest of ways.  What kind of kid didn’t see the world like this?  Of course, Shun knows that the city can be a big trip for many people, but those people are usually farmers that live off in the country.  Sora is the son of a noble.  Why wouldn’t he have seen this kind of thing more often?

          “Have you seen them much?” Sora asks.

          “All the time.  I used to live in a big city.  We’d have festivals every month.  We had park after park after park.  A beach,” Shun misses it all so much.

          “Oh,” Sora mumbles. “Maybe we can go to a beach one day too.  That would be a real treat.  I want to see the ocean and feel the wind in my hair.”

          A moment of silence passes between them before Sora’s hand finds its way to Shun’s shoulder.  It is just a light touch, to grab Shun’s attention.  The same kind of way that a cat would ask for a pat on their head.

          Sora smiles, just a little, just the slight tip of the corners of his lips, “Thanks,” he mumbles softly, “For going with me.”  Gratitude is clear and sincere in his round, green eyes.  It leaves Shun with so many questions.

          Sora is a vampire.  Sora is supposed to be cruel and heartless, all he wanted was blood.  He isn’t supposed to be soft or this… human.  He just seems like some lonely kid.


	4. Make Me Ill

The destination they end up at is a mansion even greater than Sora’s.  It took Shun a whole ten minutes to walk from his bedroom to the kitchen every morning.  A place this grand would end up taking fifteen minutes at least.

        Sora already looks nervous.  He bites his lip and clenches his fists in his lap.  He looks almost… sick to his stomach… Not something that Shun would expect from a vampire whose only substanance was human blood.

        “Welcome, Master Shiun’in.” A well-dressed man greets them as they are dropped off by the front of the building, “I assume that this is your human companion?  May I have his name to add to the registry?”

        “Shun,” Sora answers, “His name is Shun.”

        The man scribbles something into a book, a book thicker than any of the books in the bookstore he used to work at before he had changed his occupation to lap dog.  The man then turns to lead them down the hall ways.  He points out different rooms, the ballroom where the event would take place, an office, a lounge, a kitchen and finally, the bedroom that Sora and Shun would be staying in until the end of their stay.

        “Just one bed?” Shun asks as soon as he and Sora are alone.

        “We’ve been sharing a bed for the last three nights,” Sora reminds, sounding a little more cheerful as he recalls the past few nights.

        “That doesn’t mean I want to again,” Shun claims.

        It’s a lie.  He wants to, especially here.  Sora was the only familiarity he had here.  Having him in bed would help Shun sleep tonight.

        Sora ignores Shun’s griping, instead choosing this time of all times to strip out of his clothes.  Shun doesn’t mean to stare but it’s hard to take his eyes off.  He does it more out of shock than anything.  He couldn’t believe that Sora would remove his clothes just like that.  They were sleeping together, but not _sleeping_ together…

        It’s hard not to stare now that he was.  Sora’s skin looked so soft, almost creamy.  Some part of Shun wanted to reach over to touch him to see if that were true.

        “You’re blushing,” Sora can’t hide a giggle, “You have to get changed too.  I brought you a suit to wear.”

        Shun can feel his face flush an even deeper red as Sora points out the color in his cheeks.  He turns away, trying to hide it.  He doesn’t want to strip but he does.  He changes as quickly as he can so Sora won’t be able to stare at him for too long.

        “There’s no tie,” Shun points out, trying to change the subject along with his clothes.

        “Oh, you don’t need one,” Sora points to the collar that Shun still wore around his neck. “That is your tie.  Make sure you wear it like one or you’ll look silly.”

        “You’re serious?” Shun huffs as he fixes the collar into the right position, using the collar to close up the final button of his dress shirt. “I think wearing a collar looks silly.”

        “It looks nice,” Sora says, “You look nice.”

        Shun blushes again, deeper than before.  He had never gotten complimented before, not from anyone other than his sister’s ‘you look like dad’ compliments.  Sora had caught him off guard again.

        “Do I look okay?” Sora asks, trying to straighten his suit.  His tie is crooked and Shun debates whether or not to fix it for him.

        In the end, Shun does.  He tightens it and straightens it for Sora.  Shun’s heart jumps a little in excitement when Sora’s face turns pink whenever his fingers brush over Sora’s chest.

        “There,” Shun mumbles, “You look presentable.”

        Sora smiles a little, but the worry is still caught in his eyes, “Oh good,” he gives a forced, little giggle, taking Shun’s hand, “Let’s go meet everyone, I want to show you off, my Pet.”

        “Yay,” Shun mutters in the most apathetic tone he can muster, “I’m a show pony.”

        Shun had never cared for parties.  Ruri had tried to drag him out to meet her friends but to her dismay, he had always snuck away to the bathroom to read on his phone.  He hasn’t even seen his phone since he ended up with Sora.  Not that he even had the choice of sneaking off, he was stuck following his bratty, vampire ‘master’ around.

        He stands around awkwardly as Sora tried to socialize with the other vampires there.  To be honest, in a room with this many blood sucking demons; Shun is sort of relieved to have Sora around to keep an eye on him.

        He doesn’t notice that many other humans.  There were a few, huddled close to their masters, with their fingers clutched into their master’s sleeves so tightly that their knuckles turned white.

        “There they are,” Sora murmurs, turning to look Shun dead in the eye. “Those two are the highest ranking Nobles in our world.  You must behave, do you understand that?”

        “I don’t,” Shun mutters stubbornly.

        Sora’s eyes narrow but he had no time to lecture Shun again before the other two nobles walk up to them both.

        “Congratulations, Shiun’in.  It will be pleasant to have you join us in the Circle,” The taller of the two nobles smiles. “This must be your new pet.”

        “This is Shun,” Sora puts on a quick smile, “Shun, this is Akaba Reiji.  He is the highest ranking Noble, and this,” Sora motions towards the shorter of the two, “Is Yuuri Vasiliev.  He is the second highest ranking noble.”

        Yuuri smiles so sweetly that Shun swears he can smell that awful artificial sweetener people thought was good in coffee, for whatever reason Shun couldn’t understand. “Ah, so you’ve finally purchased a Pet of your own.  Which Purebred District is he from?”

        Sora shuffles his feet nervously, “He’s not from any district.  He is a Mutt.”

        “A Mutt?” Yuuri scoffs. “A Noble with a Mutt?”

        Sora nods, nervously. “Of course.  I’ve trained him well, as you can see.  His quality is so much higher than the Mutts you usually see.”

        “I hope you will keep him in check,” Reiji says quietly, “My Yuuya hasn’t had all his shots yet.  I would hate for him to fall sick,”

        “I will, I assure you,” Sora promises with a quick smile. “Don’t worry.”

        “Good,” Yuuri mutters, “It would be an extreme embarrassment if one of the Nobles couldn’t control their pet.  There are so many witnesses here, after all.”

        Yuuri’s eyes meet Shun’s momentarily.  For just a moment, Shun forgets where he is or how to breathe.  He’s trapped in the vampire’s hungry gaze, caught in the trap of his silent ensnare.  He doesn’t notice the approach of the two humans that join them.

        “Dennis,” Yuuri half sighs, smiling slightly, finally breaking his gaze towards Shun. “You’ve finally decided to join us.”

        “I apologize, Master Yuuri.  Yuuya and I decided to have an early dinner together before we returned to you,” Dennis smiles, bowing his head, “If it would please you, I am ready for your feeding,”

        “Excellent,” Yuuri smiles, taking Dennis’ outstretched hand. “Dennis, this is Shun,” Yuuri introduces quickly. “Master Sora’s new pet.  I expect you to be a good example for him.  He’s a Mutt, so you’ll have plenty of work on your hands.”

        “Yes, Master Yuuri, whatever you ask.”

        Shun watches the pair walk away.  Dennis keeps his head slightly bowed, listening to whatever words Yuuri whispers into his ear.

        “Shun?” the other human murmurs excitedly, catching Shun’s attention. “You’re Master Sora’s new pet?” the boy laughs lightly. “Oh, yay, a new friend!  My name is Yuuya!  Let me show you around, we can go eat or go dance.”

        Shun has no time to respond before Reiji clears his throat. “Yuuya,” he begins, “You are not allowed to run off with Shun.  He hasn’t had all his shots, I do not want you falling sick.”

        Yuuya pouts, disappointed. “Master Reiji,” he half whines, “I want to play.”

        “Later, it is time for my feeding now,” Reiji explains quietly. “It’s almost your bedtime anyway, you’ll be too tired to dance.”

        Yuuya nods, feeling defeated.  He takes Reiji’s hand and follows him out of the room with a quick wave goodbye at Shun.

        “That went well,” Sora mumbles, “Sort of.”

        “It could have gone better,” Shun disagrees. “What’s this about shots anyway?  Haven’t you given me all of them anyway?  I’m a grown man, I don’t need more shots.”

        “I’ve told you, Shun.  You need them so your human diseases won’t spread,” Sora explains as if the answer had been obvious. “If you’re sick, I could get it too from your blood.”

        “Remind me of that next time, okay?  I’ll make sure to give you an extra dose of whatever fever I get.”

        Sora just shakes his head tiredly.  Tears start to well up in his eyes, “Can we leave now?  I don’t want to see my father tonight.  I’m already embarrassed enough.”

        “Yeah,” Shun mumbles, feeling bad now that Sora looked like he was about to start to cry. “We can go back to the room.”

        They walk through the empty hallways to their room for the night. Once Sora closes the door behind them, Shun realizes how alone they are. It isn’t the first time they had been alone together, but somehow this felt different.  Sora’s eyes are still wet from tears when he had begun to cry.  

        Shun sits in the bed, removing his coat and shirt, “Come here,” he murmurs as he pets the empty space next to him.  He can hardly believe he was doing this, “You haven’t eaten at all today, you’ll get sick,”

        Sora hesitates slightly, staring at Shun’s bare shoulders.  Shun could have sworn there was a slight blush in his cheeks.  Sora crosses the room, hunger overcoming his emotions.  He needed to eat, and he had been starving all day.  He wasn’t about to decline an invitation to his Pet’s blood.

        Sora sits in Shun’s lap to reach his shoulders easier, his breathing is already so labored.  He licks his lips, leaning into Shun’s soft shoulder.  His places his lips into Shun’s flushed skin, parting them hungrily.  He swipes his tongue against Shun’s skin, feeling his where his pulse thrummed the hardest.  

        Shun shudders at the warm, wet touch of Sora’s tongue.  He leans his head back, trying to ignore the pitiful moan that tried to escape his lip.  Sora hesitates slightly before biting into Shun’s flesh, causing the taller boy to groan in pain.

        Shun’s blood was so hot in his mouth.  It tastes so sweet and so rich, Sora wants more and more.  His hands move down lower and lower until they came to a rest at Shun’s hips.  He presses in, squeezing Shun hard enough to make Shun moan again.

        Sora wants to hear it again.  He wants that delicious gush of red hot blood in his mouth whenever Shun moaned.  Sora moves his hands up to the hem of the top of Shun’s pants.  He slips his fingers in, teasing Shun as he tickles the sensitive skin there.

        Another moan from Shun, louder this time rather the whimpers he had made earlier.  Sora groans as another gush of hot blood filled his mouth.  He pulls away, gasping for a breath of air, before he leans back in to lick the wound closed and to clean away the trails he had missed.

        He teases Shun again, biting gently into his neck.  He can feel Shun’s pulse, beating loudly underneath his teeth.  He presses in a little harder, making Shun moan again.

        “I-I…,” Shun murmurs through the haze fogging up his head, “Don’t… don’t stop.”

        Sora laughs breathlessly, “I told you that you would like it,” Sora whispers, “Let me just….”

        Sora moves, adjusting their positions until he was lying underneath Shun.  He trails his fingers along Shun’s spine, stopping to tease the skin at the hem of Shun’s pants.  His fingers find the button and zipper of the dark fabric, which he quickly began to undo to remove it out of the way, leaving Shun naked.

        Sora smiles, trailing his fingers over Shun’s flushed skin.  His mouth waters at the mere sight of it.  He wants it all, all of Shun’s sweet blood  in his mouth, hot and burning as it slid down his throat.

        He lets Shun undress him, adjusting his position to make it easier for Shun to slide into him.  He feels it, every inch of Shun as Shun pushes in, groaning as the heat enveloped him.

        Sora’s teeth find their way back to Shun’s shoulder.  He bites in hard, drinking in the gush of hot, sweet liquid that spilt from Shun’s veins.  Every movement Shun makes leaves Sora breathless and hungry for another sip of blood.

        By the time that Shun climaxes, which isn’t very much time at all, Sora has had more than his fill as blood.  He feels almost spoilt, full of warmth as Shun’s blood radiated warmth from within his stomach.

        Shun is breathless, tired and hungry.  This had been too much.  Sora had been too much.  His energy was gone, his blood depleted.  He can’t even think straight, not when he felt this sick.

        “Oh,” Sora sighs, “You look like you’re going to pass out.”

        “Does that happen a lot?” Shun gasps, his voice sounding too frail for his own liking.  He couldn’t tell if it were from the lack of blood left in his body or from the sinful act that he and Sora have just committed.

        “Only if I take too much,” Sora shakes his head, “Here, take this.”

        Shun watches quietly as Sora runs his teeth over his own skin, cutting into his inner arm to draw his own blood.  Shun’s stomach turns at the sight of it as he watches blood drip down Sora’s arm.

        Shun doesn’t have time to respond before Sora presses his bloody wound to Shun’s lips.  Shun flinches back in disgust but a drop of Sora’s blood makes its way past Shun’s lips and onto his tongue.

        Metallic, horribly metallic like copper and salt.  Yet, so tempting.  Shun wants more, his body screams, begs and aches for it.  He can’t stop himself from latching on to Sora’s wound and drinking in his blood.

        Shun drinks, desperate and starving for another mouthful.  His body hums from Sora’s blood, singing as it fills his stomach.  He wants another sip, another taste, another…

        Sora pulls away too soon, tearing himself away from Shun’s mouth.   He half smiles as he runs his thumbs over the corners of Shun’s lips, collecting the trails of red.  He licks his thumbs, grimacing at the taste of his own blood.

        For a moment, they just stare at each other.  Neither of them are really sure about what has just happened.  The more it sinks in, the more Shun realizes what he has done.  He’s let Sora drink his blood, he had sex with Sora and he had drank Sora’s blood too.

        What an absolute mess.

        No wonder Ruri had never let Shun drink more than just a beer.  He was such a mess when he was intoxicated.

        “I’m… sorry?” Shun apologizes.  He feels like he should, after all, he hadn’t really held back when they were in the heat of things.

        Sora simply shrugs, plopping his head onto the pillow next to Shun, “It was fun.”

        “It was…” Shun trails off, unsure of how to continue.

        “It was my first time,” Sora answers for him.  He grins up at Shun, as mischievous as an imp. “I had a lot of fun.”

        For Shun, this is his third time.  The first two seemed more like failed attempts.  They had both been with an ex-girlfriend that left him because, in her words, ‘you were lackluster’.  Shun had never had confidence in bed before that but that certainly killed whatever hope he had.

        “Fun,” Shun echoes.

        “Yeah,” Sora yawns, sleepily.  He doesn’t even hesitate to cuddle himself into Shun’s chest anymore, “You’re a good Pet.”

        Pet, Shun can’t forget that.  No matter how human Sora could pretend to be, he was a vampire and Shun was nothing more than a pet to him.  He doesn’t know why he lets Sora drape a veil over his eyes to hide that fact.

        Still, Shun ends up stroking Sora to sleep for another night.  It feels odd now that they’ve crossed such a line.  He feels bad for the vampire, as terrible as the situation may be.  He doesn’t like it when Sora cries or when he’s sad.  He seems to really need Shun’s arms around him tonight to fall asleep.

        Stockholm Syndrome…  The term comes to Shun’s mind often lately.  He doesn’t really have a reason to start caring for Sora… Or does he…

        Sora hasn’t been cruel to him.  He isn’t even controlling in the way that Reiji seemed to control Yuuya.  Sora just asks for what he wanted and Shun gives in because he’s too soft not to.  He had healed Shun’s knife wounds too.  Shun still thinks of that every time he looks at his hand.

        Sora is small, almost needy in his own way.  Over the past week that Shun had spent with him, Sora had felt like nothing more than just another kid he could have met in school.  He just seems like he wanted to have a friend and Shun can’t fault him for that.  After all, Shun is that kid too.  The kind that just wanted to have someone to be close to.

        Vampire… Human… They were both people.  Maybe the internal biology that ruled their nature made them different, but perhaps, behind those differences, maybe they had more in common than Shun would have thought.

        Somewhere in the middle of his musings, there’s a knock on the door.  It’s not loud or insistent but it’s enough to make Sora stir.  He had just fallen asleep and Shun didn’t want him to wake up.  He couldn’t face him right now.  He would much rather face whoever waited at the door.

        A first, considering that Shun is about as antisocial as a street cat.  Ruri’s words, not his.  Shun is the type of person to ignore phone calls and knocks on the door whenever he deems them unnecessary.  Which, to Shun, is always unless he expected food delivery.

        What waits behind the door are a pair of wide, wine-red eyes that stare up at him from the dark.  Under most circumstances, this would be unnerving if it weren’t accompanied by Yuuya’s even wider, friendly smile.

        “Shun!” Yuuya exclaims happily. “See, Dennis?  I told you he would answer.”

        Dennis rolls his eyes. “Great,” he mutters.

        “Shun, do you want to go to dinner with us?  We just had a feeding so we’re dying to eat,” Yuuya explains with a bright laugh. “We wanted to see if you’d come along.  We want to get to know Master Sora’s new Pet.”

        Shun hesitates but ultimately agrees.  It’s amazing what he’d do for food.  Especially after a feeding like that, food was too tempting a thought to pass up.  With the way things were going, he’d regret not joining them when given the chance.

        Yuuya happily chatters as they walk through the hall.  Servants bow their heads as the three of them walk by, greeting ‘Master Yuuya and his friends’.

        “The kitchen is really nice, Shun, you’ll love it.  It’s big and cozy and we just painted it a fresh coat of white,”  Yuuya says, taking Shun’s hand to lead him down the hallway faster.

        “I’m sure it’s full of people already,” Dennis says, hands in his pockets.  He doesn’t sound optimistic.

        “It’s my home,” Yuuya reminds him, “Master Reiji gave me my very own table and I get to share with you two.”

        “I hope this guy is better than Shiun’in Sr’s last few pets.  They were all boring,” Dennis doesn’t even bother to hide his words.

        “I liked Yui,” Yuuya chips in. “She taught me how to make an origami crane.”

        “Yui only lasted for two months,” Dennis muses. “Better than Yuka, I guess.”

        “What happened to Yui?” Shun interrupts, trying to keep up with the conversation as Yuuya and Dennis batted it around like it was a ball that they were playing with on a tennis court.

        “Oh, she left,” Yuuya explains.

        “You can leave?” Shun wonders.  Maybe he _can_ go home.

        Dennis laughs. “Yuuya means that she died,” he says with a shake of his head. “Shiun’in Sr’s Pets don’t last very long.”

        “You’ll scare him, Dennis,” Yuuya warns. “He’s a…  A you know…”

        “A Mutt?  Oh please, he has to learn the ins and outs of these things,” Dennis brushes Yuuya’s warnings off as if they were just dust on his shoulders. “Most Pets have a lifespan of thirty years.  After ten or so years of serving your Master, you get too weak and you can die.”

        “That’s not true,” Yuuya shakes his head. “Umm…  Jesslyn lasted Phoenix Sr. his whole life.”

        “That’s because he took care of her,” Dennis explains. “Most Pets don’t last that long.”

        “Why not?” Shun asks, feeling sick to his stomach.  He doesn’t feel hungry all of a sudden.

        “Well, it’s because of feedings,” Dennis says as if it’s obvious. “Feedings use up a lot of us.  We don’t last long.  The more the feedings, the less time we have.”

        Yuuya just nods as if he isn’t affected by this at all.

        “You both just accept that?  You have another ten years tops and you’re fine with it,” Shun wonders, disgusted.  How could anyone just accept that?

        Both boys nod their head and Shun gets a knot in his stomach.

        “What is it like in your world?  Do humans live very long?” Yuuya asks.

        “They live to be seventy, eighty…  Some live to be a hundred…” Shun mumbles through the tightness in his throat. “Thirty… That’s so young…”

        Yuuya’s mouth drops. “A hundred!  Dennis, did you hear that!”  he ends up gripping onto Shun’s arm so tight that his hand starts to fall asleep. “Tell me more about the human world.”

        If Shun were weak for Sora, then he was weak for Yuuya too.  Somehow both of them seemed to know his weakness for puppy dog eyes.  He ends up telling Yuuya everything he can think of while they have dinner.

        School, the workplace, festivals, zoos, shopping malls, Christmas…  They all come up.  Family is the topic that Shun lingers on the most, but drops as soon as he gets to the part about Ruri.

        “There’s stage plays and concerts,” Shun explains as he runs out of topics, he can’t think of much else. “With actors like you see in movies, except it’s live before your eyes.”

        “That’s… amazing!” Yuuya exclaims, “The human world sounds so magical.”

        “Yeah,” Shun says quietly, “I miss it.”

        “I wonder if Master Reiji would take me to a play if I asked him.”

        Dennis sighs, “Give it a rest for now, Yuuya.  It’s getting late, we should all go back to our Masters before they miss us.”

        “Oh,” Yuuya mumbles, sad now. “I guess so.  Can I walk with you to your room and ask you more questions, Shun?”

        “Sure,” Shun agrees.  He’d get lost without Yuuya to guide him back.

        Yuuya chats with him about parties.  Not like the kind they had earlier in the evening, but the kind that were simple and fun.  Birthday parties, wedding ceremonies, the kind that got you so drunk that you couldn’t even remember the night before.  Yuuya ‘ahh’s and ‘ooh’s as Shun explains them all.

        When they finally get to Shun’s room, Shun feels more relaxed.  Yuuya was so bright and cheerful… and curious.  Shun liked their conversation, even if it felt weird to explain normal occurrences to someone who knew little to nothing about them.  Even so, the conversation felt so comforting, so human, it felt like being home again.

        When Shun crawls back into bed, the comfort wears thin and he’s reminded of who, where and what he is again.  Sora finds his way back into Shun’s arms and Shun finds his way back into questioning everything again.

        Stockholm Syndrome…

        No, that wasn’t it.  Not even close.


	5. You're Running After Something

The next evening holds the celebration of Sora’s father’s retirement.  It’s an evening filled with different men and women shaking his hand and congratulating him on his success and thanking him for his hard work.  

        Few things go unnoticed by Shun’s eyes, as he watches, he noticed the ‘Pet’ on his arm is a different woman from before.  Had he already killed her?  The woman on his arm smiles warmly at every vampire that looks her way.  The term ‘well-trained’ popped into Shun’s head as he watched her easily handle every attempt at socializing.

        Sora’s father kisses every woman’s hand rather than shake it.  The way he does it makes Shun’s skin crawl and runs shudders down his spine.  He doesn’t understand how that man and Sora could be related when they acted so different.

        Sora gets his share of handshakes too, from the same men and women that had greeted his father earlier.

        “Your father was such a success,” they say. “Do you think you can follow in his footsteps?”

        Sora nods confidently each time, but the pressure of his hand around Shun’s says that he’s nervous.  When the party finally dies down, Sora relaxes.  

        “Congratulations, Sora,” Reiji smiles politely as he walks over to them, Yuuya in tow.  Yuuya gives Shun a wave which Shun returns a small one. “Welcome to the Circle.  You’re the final of our generation to join us.”

        “Thank you, Reiji,” Sora smiles slightly. “It will be nice to join you all.”

        “Before your father left, he helped us setup for the next six months,” Reiji explains. “You’ll have around that much time before our next annual meeting.  It will be held here, of course, as my home serves as our headquarters.  I expect you to brush up on our current laws and our current events.  I understand that you may have a learning disability but I assure that you are aware that you cannot fall behind on these matters.”

        “Yes,” Sora promises, “I will be prepared when the time comes.  My tutor has taught me well.”

        “Well, I guess that is all then.  I will be retiring for the night,” Reiji says, pulling Yuuya close. “Oh yes, before I forget.  Master Phoenix and Mistress Tenjoin send their formal apologies for not being able to attend tonight.  The political situation in America has been in a downward spiral since the latest incident and they are unable to leave until it is under control.”

        Sora nods, “I hope they sort it out soon.”

        “Yes,” Reiji agrees, “Oh and one more thing.  Keep your Pet on a leash tonight.  He and my Yuuya were caught dining together last night and I will not allow my Yuuya to fall sick.”

        “I will,” Sora bows his head. “Thank you, Master Reiji.  The event you held was impeccable as always.”

        Reiji simply smiles before he walks away with a sad Yuuya waving goodbye to his newest friend as he is pulled away.

        “He’s…” Shun trails off, “Kind of a jerk.”

        Sora giggles a little. “I’ve known him my whole life and he definitely is more than ‘kind of a jerk’.”

        Shun returns the laugh a little. “Be prepared,” Shun mocks, “Make like a boy scout.”

        “A what?” Sora asks, confused.

        “It's a human thing, I guess.”

        When they end up together in their room, neither of them really speak.  Shun knows that what happened last night is on both of their minds.

        “Does… What happened last night… Does that happen often?” Shun finally asks, breaking the silence.

        “Yeah, it’s normal,” Sora explains, hopping into the bed and pulling the blankets up around him until he feels cozy. “You are for entertainment purposes too.”

        Shun doesn’t know how to feel anymore.  He finds it so sickening and yet so understandable all at once.  Sora’s venom felt like a drug that Shun couldn’t get enough of.  If he got pleasure from a feeding, wasn’t that fair in some way?  At least it wasn’t painful like he had been taught all his life.

        “Entertainment purposes,” Shun echoes, curiously.  Did Sora just mean sex?

        “Yeah,” Sora yawns. “Yuuya can dance and sing.  Dennis can play the piano.”

        “What am I good for?” Shun asks.

        “Company,” Sora fights off another yawn. “You’re my friend now.”

        “We’re not friends.  You’re holding me captive,” Shun reminds him harshly.

        Sora looks sad, hurt by Shun’s tone and words. “I think you’re my friend.  You’re nice to me but you don’t have to be.”

        “I don’t have to?  If I don’t, you’ll get rid of me.”

        “That isn’t true,” Sora promises, “I thought about the whole… consent thing.  You can do whatever you want, I won’t stop you.  Just don’t hurt yourself or break my father’s expensive vases.”

        “Why not?  Why won’t you stop me?”

        “Because,” Sora pauses, “I like you.”

        “Why?” Shun presses, feeling so frustrated.  He had so many questions.  Why would that brat like him?  Shun has only made one friend in his life and now suddenly, Sora wanted to be his friend too.

        “You don’t judge me like everyone else in my life.  My father is never proud of me, my peers look down on me.  I did better than them at our final exams.  I got full marks, all across the board.  I did better but they will never see me as better,” Sora rants.  He sniffs towards the end. “You heard what Reiji said about me… That I have a learning disability… Just because I’m a little different than them, they think that they’re all superior.”

        Shun doesn’t know what he should say.  He doesn’t think that he’s been nice to Sora.  He’s been sarcastic and angry.  If Sora thinks that kindness was Shun telling him to leave him alone, then Sora needs a new perspective on life.  Shun doesn’t know what vampires learn when growing up but whatever Sora learned about relationships was unhealthy and he needed to open his eyes.

        “You’re nicer to me than anyone I’ve ever known, even though I took you from your home,” Sora continues. “You’re my only friend.”

        Shun doesn’t deny it anymore, he feels like if he did, Sora would cry.  He can’t handle tears, he really can’t.

        So instead, Shun just climbs into bed with Sora again, pulling him close and into a hug.  He doesn’t let go until the next morning, when Sora wakes up.

***

The next few months are stressful as Sora tries to keep up with Reiji’s demands.  He works so hard to be someone to be proud of but no one seems to notice.  Sora ends up with more nightmares that Shun has to calm him down from.  Shun doesn’t think he feeds enough.  There are gaps of time when Sora doesn’t bite him or when Shun doesn’t see him with a glass of blood in his small hands.

        In all honesty, Shun kind of misses him.  Whenever they spent time together, Shun felt less lonely, a little happier.

        When they spend time together, it’s usually in Sora’s room.  Sora likes to ask Shun to play video games with him.  Shun used to love playing video games but he had set that aside to work longer hours so that he could make money to raise his sister.  Being able to play again is nice, even though Shun is rusty at first.

        “I hope they add more vampires in,” Sora says wistfully. “That would be cool.  They could be a tank or something.”

        “Maybe a sniper instead,” Shun suggests.

        “Widowmaker is already a sniper, and Mercy is support healer,” Sora argues, “I want a tank.”

        “Maybe one day,” Shun shrugs.  Maybe representation really was important to everyone. “I think you make a good Mercy though.”

        Sora’s eyes light up a little, “Really?”

        “Y-yeah,” Shun mutters, “Stop looking at me like that.  I’m trying to shoot down their Bastion.”

        On other days, Shun catches Sora outside in the massive garden, trying to lure squirrels or frogs from their little hiding places so he could feed them and pet them.  Sometimes Sora manages to catch a bunny.  It’s hard for Shun to watch at first, since he has all vampires categorized as ‘cruel and heartless’ in his head but Sora is nothing but gentle with all the animals that he touches.

        Sometimes they’d play a ‘game’ together in the garden.  Sora would point to a bird and ask Shun to name him.

        “What is he?” Sora asks as he points to a small, yellow bird.

        “That’s a yellow wagtail,” Shun answers.

        “You know so many,” Sora huffs, impressed, “That one?” he points to a reddish brown one, poking around for food.

        “A cinnamon sparrow,” Shun recalls, “I think.”

        “Let’s name him Cinnamon, then,” Sora says happily, “Cinnamon and the wagtail can be… Lemon.”

        Sora’s fun in the garden isn’t limited to birds and rodents.  Shun catches him one day looking up into the apple tree, looking worried and concerned about something.

        “It’s a cat,” Sora points when Shun asks. “I think he’s stuck.”

        “He’s pretty high up there,” Shun notices. “Must be terrified.”

        The cat mews as if to cement Shun’s observation.  

        “I’m going to go get him,” Sora says confidently as he marches towards the tree.

        Shun doesn’t have the chance to stop him before Sora starts to climb the tree.  He’s pretty good at it, even though he is so small.  Maybe his lightweight is what helps him.  Shun can't tell.

        It takes some struggling and lots of shimmying along branches but Sora manages to reach the frightened cat.  The cat refuses to go to him, choosing to sink its claws deeper into the branch that it sat on.  Sora pets him softly, coaxing him to let go and climb into his arms.

        “Hey, Shun,” Sora calls, “Catch him so I can get down.”

        “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Shun protests but it’s too late, the cat is already zooming towards his face.

        Shun doesn’t catch him, instead the cat just uses him to break its fall.  It launches itself off Shun, plopping its fat rump onto the ground to clean its bloodied paws that probably bled from being caught in the tree branch.  At least Shun hopes that’s all it is.  He hopes it’s not his blood on that cat’s paws.

        Two hours later, Shun and Sora have given him a bath.  Shun has had a dozen scratches, all of which Sora has licked to heal.  The cat has eaten part of Shun’s lunch.  The cat has been named ‘Ringo’ and it has been given a ribbon collar.

        They don’t have too much in common, Shun thinks, and yet they have so much that they share.

        Shun had to work hard for money to raise his sister, family was everything to him.  His life hadn’t been hard but it hadn’t been easy.  He had to work, study, run a household but having Ruri smile at him before bed every night made him want to wake up and do it all again for her.  He’s thankful that he’s managed to make enough savings that she’d be fine on her own until she could support herself.

        Shun had done so much in his life, he’s experienced so much.  He’s dated a girl, although it failed in the end, he stills counts it as a victory considering how unlikely it seemed that he could date anyone.  He’s worked so many odd jobs that he knew the fastest way to stock a shelf and how to fold a shirt in a second flat.  He could drive a car, fix a broken faucet and replace a lightbulb.

        Sora didn’t have that.

        Sora knew a whole history of vampiric politics, a whole history of vampiric studies.  He knew math so complicated that Shun, as good as he was at calculus, couldn’t compute.  Sora knew laws, both human and vampiric.  He knew his Geography by heart that Shun could name a place and Sora could name the coordinates of their capital.  He could read and write in multiple languages.

        However, Sora knew nothing about cooking.  He couldn’t drive a car or sew.  He couldn’t ride a bike.  Sora had never experienced life outside of studying.  His family was a mess, with his mother long since dead and his father so distant.  He had no siblings, no one else except for his father.

        They were so different… but behind it all, Shun thinks they share a lot more than meets the eye.

        They both liked the same kind of movies and the same kind of video games.  Sometimes on the weekends, they’d sit and play video games all day.  They liked the same kind of weather, cloudy but not too cold.  

        Most of all, Shun thinks they’re emotionally similar.  It’s a first for Shun, since his sister and Yuuto could sympathize with him but never fully understand his emotions.  He thinks that he and Sora both process feelings the same way.  They both act confident as a stance, to hide the fact that they were scared.  They were both lonely, but afraid to show that too.  Having each other felt kind of nice, even if it were forced at the start of their relationship.

        Shun is scared, he’s scared to admit it but he thinks he could be falling in love with Sora.  He doesn’t want to be, he knows he shouldn’t.  Sora was his captor, but he doesn’t feel that way anymore.  They just felt like friends, or lovers.

        On the nights when feeding turns into a mess of hot kisses, flushed skin and eager hands, Shun feels like they’re lovers.  He feels things for Sora that he never felt before.  Not from anyone, not even from his past relationship with his ex-girlfriend.

        He feels stupid for falling for Sora.  He refuses to admit it.  He refuses to be the one to say it first.  He doesn’t want to be rejected.  He doesn’t want to face Sora and hear that Sora doesn’t love him back.  He doesn’t want to be heartbroken.

        He can’t forget his place.  He’s a Pet and Sora was his Master.  Sora had no reason to want him or to love him.  Shun could hope and pine and beg all he wanted, but Sora would never be more than just that, his Master.

        It’s easier to pretend and to lie.  Shun puts his defenses back up, hiding behind a mask so that Sora couldn’t see his true feelings.

        He ends up refusing to feed Sora.  He wants to let go of the pleasure, of Sora’s venom and that sick feeling in his stomach that Shun thinks is a symptom of falling love sick.

        Shun worries though, whenever Sora doesn’t feed.  He hasn’t seem him feed in days so he gives in, letting Sora feed off of him again.  

Shun’s head spins when Sora’s teeth punctures through his skin.  Shun’s body immediately responds to the venom in Sora’s bite.  His body feels almost numb as Sora begins to lap up the blood from the fresh wound.

        Shun is hit with the same odd feeling again, with that tingling rush in his veins.  He felt that weird high from Sora’s venom that he would much rather ignore.  He wants to fight back, to push Sora away, to fight against the pleasure of the pressure of Sora’s teeth against his neck.

        Shun feels Sora’s teeth nick against his skin again and he moans quietly against his will.  He hopes that Sora hasn’t realized it but he feels Sora’s teeth bite harder in registration to the small sound he had made.

        Shun’s whole body feels electric at Sora’s every touch.  His skin seems to burn where Sora grips at his shoulder and arm.  Shun suppresses another moan.  He tries to clear his head but the pleasure coursing through his body was too much.

        Stupid vampire venom.

        Sora isn’t about to stop there, not when he has Shun where he likes him.  Shun’s heart is beating fast and heavy and his blood was so hot in Sora’s mouth.  The flavor of it, Sora had no idea that something this delectable could ever exist.  Sweet and flavorful, almost cloying in its own special way.

        Sora isn’t about to let Shun go until he had his fill of Shun’s blood.  He’s so thirsty, after all.  It isn’t fair for him to ignore his own needs like this when he was so thirsty.  Sora wants to drink and drink until it’s enough to stop that horrible ache in his throat.

        Sora lets his hand travel down lower, across Shun’s chest and down past his stomach.  Further still until Shun’s breath catches in his throat.  Shun didn’t realize he had become this hard until Sora had touched him down there.  He feels embarrassed that being fed on could do this to him.

        Sora rubs the hardened lump in Shun’s pants, rubbing harder and harder until Shun moans again, his hips buckle up into Sora’s hand.  Shun’s blood was so hot now, it nearly burned Sora’s mouth.

        Shun shakes his head to try and clear it.  He manages to push Sora away a little, giving himself just enough space to breathe again.  Sora licks his lips, feeling well-fed and high off of Shun’s rich blood.

“Do you want to go on?” Sora asks, Shun knows that he’s trying to imply that they have sex again.

       If Shun weren’t so drained of blood he would have blushed red in shame, “You took too much,” Shun says, changing the subject before he’s made more aware of his indignity. “Why did you drink so much?  I won’t be much use to you if you kill me.”

        “I was thirsty.  You should let me feed from you more often.  It’s healthier for both of us that way,” Sora answers.  He’s still hungry.  He would like a bit more but Shun is too weak for that right now. “Let’s feed you before you pass out.”

        Shun would’ve declined the offer if he weren’t so dizzy.  He can barely stand let alone walk.  He needs to lean on Sora for support as they walk through the hallway.

        “I’ll spoon feed you if you want,” Sora laughs.  It’s meant to be a joke but Shun can’t feed himself in his condition.  Sora feels regret brim in his stomach, he really had taken too much.  He needed to be more careful and more controlled.

        Shun refuses to eat at first.  He’s stubborn and he doesn’t want to admit that he’s weak.  Still, he’s so hungry and the plate of food in front of him looks too tempting to ignore.

        Shun tries to lift the spoon to his mouth but his hands shake too much.  Sora had taken so much blood that Shun wonders how he could still be conscious.

        “Here,” Sora murmurs quietly.  He takes the spoon from Shun and tries to feed him. “You need to eat.”

        Shun wants to decline the offer.  He wants to deny his feelings so he can’t, he just can’t, let Sora make him fall even more _._ His body however, wants different things.  His body wants food and as much as Shun tries to ignore it, he wants Sora too.

        “There,” Sora smiles when Shun finally begins to eat. “See, that’s not so bad.  I can feed you, too.”

        “I wouldn’t be like this if you didn’t take so much blood,” Shun mutters.  His voice sounds frail and he hates that.

        “I need to eat too.  I get so hungry,” Sora reminds with a sigh. “This isn’t working.  Maybe I’ll need to feed you something else.”

        Sora drags his teeth across his inner arm, leaving a messy red trail.  Shun’s breathing becomes ragged as he stares at the blood pooling on Sora’s arm.  It takes all of his remaining strength to sit still and not grab Sora’s arm.

        Sora cradles his head gently as he slowly lifts his arm up to Shun’s mouth to let him drink.  Shun can’t control himself anymore.  All he can feel is Sora’s warmth and all he can taste is the horrible metallic flavor of Sora’s blood.  He’s not sure which is the worse drug, Sora’s venom or his blood.  Both were always so tempting.

        Sora pulls away too soon, leaving Shun hungry for more.  Shun licks his lips and smoothes out his hair to try and hide what a mess he had become.

        “Better?” Sora asks.

        Shun manages a small nod that wins him a smile from Sora.

        “Good,” Sora smiles, he kicks his feet delightedly in the air. “Finish your soup.”

        Shun takes another spoonful as Sora feeds him.  It’s kind of a nice feeling now that Shun has given in.  He’s done so much to take care of other people.  It feels really nice to trade places once in awhile.

        “Mm,” Sora sighs, lifting a spoonful to his own mouth. “It’s tasty too.”

        “I thought you couldn’t eat human food?” Shun wonders, aloud.

        “You drank my blood, Shun,” Sora winks at him, playfully. “Why can’t I have a little soup too?  Maybe later we can share some ice cream too.  That’s one of my favorite human foods.”


	6. That You'll Never Kill

More days pass and Shun begins to lose hope.  He can’t ignore his feelings for Sora, he can’t deny them.  He tried to run but he can’t outrun his feelings and he can’t hide no matter how hard he tries.

        He… loves Sora…

        He loves so much of him, despite who and what he was.  Shun loves how sweet he was when they were alone and playing video games or sleeping in bed.  He loved how soft Sora was and his giggles.  He loved the way that Sora drank blood from twisty straws and cat mugs.

        He’s gotten a taste of what Sora is really like, soft and scared but sweet and caring.  He’s watched Sora lure squirrels and birds to him in the vast garden behind the mansion, just so that he could pet them and feed them treats.  He’s helped Sora identify so many different birds, from Starlings to Warblers and the random owl every now and then.

        He likes watching cartoons with Sora on the tv and he likes watching Sora react to the plot twists and the story lines.  He likes when Sora smiles and when he laughs.

        He loves Sora, he can’t deny it.

        He loves Sora, so why… why doesn’t Sora love him?  He never shows it, he never says that he does.  Shun is left hanging every night, hoping he’ll confess but he never does.

        It’s frustrating.

        When the time comes for the annual meeting among the Circle, Shun sulks during the car ride.  How… How can Sora sit so close to him, until their legs were touching from hip to calf, and not feel anything?  How can Sora not love him back?

        Shun feels kind of relieved to see Yuuya when they arrive.  He ends up getting Yuuya alone with him for lunch so they can talk.

        “I’ve told you about the human world that I’ve come from, now it’s your turn to tell me about yours,” Shun starts. “Do Masters ever fall in love with their pet?”

        Yuuya shakes his head, “That’s illegal,” he cocks his head to the side as he tries to remember. “Pets can love and devote themselves to their Master, but their Master cannot love them back.  It’s forbidden.”

        “Why is that?” Shun presses, both worried and intrigued.

        “To prevent inter-species breeding.  A lot of Pets have to be sterilized to prevent unwanted pregnancies.  Half-human, half-vampire hybrids are illegal and the parents and child have to be executed,” Yuuya says as if he’s been trained to remember. “Why?”

        “No reason,” Shun mumbles.

        “I’ve been taught all this stuff since I was little,” Yuuya explains, “I’m a purebred so my life and yours are so different.  I was taught all kinds of things.  Laws, how to sing and dance, what to eat to keep my Master healthy, I was even taught how to be good in bed.”

        “That’s… that sounds like slavery,” Shun mumbles, he’s getting a headache already.

        “No,” Yuuya denies, “It’s my life purpose.  I’m meant to serve Master Reiji.  I was created, born and trained just to suit his needs and wants in life.”

        “That’s even sicker,” Shun argues.

        “I love my Master,” Yuuya mumbles quietly.

        “Does he love you?” Shun counters.

        Yuuya shrugs, “I hope so.”

        Shun lays his head in his hand, “Let’s move on before I lose my appetite even more than I already have,” Shun shakes his head, “Do you ever drink your Master’s blood?”

        “Oh no, never,” Yuuya promises. “That’s beyond the intimacy I’m allowed to share with him.”

        “Why?  Is it a romantic kind of thing?”

        “It’s… intimate… Only vampires who have a strong bond or want to make a really strong bond dare to do it.  You know how their venom works.  Imagine that times two.  Even lovers don’t really do it.  It takes a special couple to even think of trying it.”

        Shun nods, he doesn’t have to imagine it.  Sora has done that with him, they have done that twice already.  He knows how passionate it can be.

        “Can we talk about your world now?”  Yuuya asks, uncomfortable with Shun’s questions.

        “Yeah, go on,” Shun agrees, ready to change the subject too.

***

When dinner rolls around, Shun is surprised when Sora doesn’t pester him for a feeding.  Instead, all Shun has to do is sit with him in the lounge.  Dennis and Yuuri are already there, Dennis plays the piano quietly in the background while Yuuri lays across one of the luxury sofas in the middle of the room.

        “Oh Dennis,” Yuuri sighs as Sora walks in. “Master Sora is here.”

        Dennis pauses his song, standing up and bowing to greet Sora, “Master Shiun’in,” he greets politely, “It is nice to meet you again.”

        Sora gives him a small nod before he turns his attention to Yuuri, “Good evening, Yuuri,” he greets. “Will Reiji be joining us soon?”

        “I’m already here,” Reiji says as he enters the room with Yuuya trailing behind him. “It is pleasant to meet you both again.  Master Edo and Mistress Asuka are on their way to join us shortly.”

        The names are familiar to Shun now.  Sora had crash-coursed him on the Circle’s members.  Reiji was the highest ranking Noble, followed by Yuuri and then Sora.  Edo was the head Chairman and Advisor, while Asuka was the head Chairwoman and Treasurer.

        “Will you be feeding us refreshments tonight, Reiji?” Yuuri asks, his tone is borderline bored.  Shun doesn’t think he’s heard any excitement in Yuuri’s voice since they’ve met.

        “I have a nice selection for us tonight.  An assortment of fine blood from the Pureblood district in Italy,” Reiji ensures.

        “Mmm,” Yuuri sighs. “Maybe I should pay them a visit this year.  Wouldn’t that be lovely, Dennis?  I’m sure you’d enjoy a taste of their wine.”

        “Whatever pleases you, my Master,” Dennis bows his head. “I’ll be happy to follow you anywhere.”

        The conversation is interrupted by a knock on the door. “Master Reiji, Master Phoenix and Mistress Tenjoin have arrived.”

        “Lovely,” Reiji smiles. “Let them in.”

        At first, Shun is confused.  Four people enter the room, two vampires and two humans.  Shun assumes that one human would belong to each vampire but the case is made clear when both humans follow Edo to sit with him.

        “Reiji,” Edo smiles, taking a seat on an empty sofa with both of his human pets. “I love the new interior of your lounge.  The red is so striking.”

        “Yes,” Asuka joins in. “It really makes the room feel much cosier.”

        “I’m glad you both enjoy it,” Reiji smiles at the two new guests. “Come now, let us have refreshments.  We may leave our Pets here to mingle and play while we begin our discussion of the introduction of our new laws.”

        The vampires all stand to leave.  Shun has trouble letting Sora go and Sora doesn’t look like he wants to leave either.  However, the choice isn’t theirs to make, so Sora leaves without a word and Shun is left in a room full of human slaves.

        “Shun!” Yuuya perks up, “These two are Grace and Gloria.  They’re Master Edo’s pets.  Come say hi!”

        “They both are?” Shun wonders aloud.

        “Yes,” the slightly taller of the two answers, “I’m Gloria and this is my sister, Grace”

        “Master Edo travels a lot so he needs two pets,” Grace explains with a smile and a tap of her fingers against Shun’s chest.  She was the flirtatious type. “Or else he gets really bored without us.”

        “We’ve just returned from visiting America again,” Gloria says. “We were there for two months to take care of some business.”

        “Oh,” Shun nods.  He doesn’t know what else to say, he wasn’t one of them.  He was an outsider to them still. “Does Mistress Asuka have a Pet?  I didn’t see one.”

        “She doesn’t believe in them,” Grace explains. “Mistress Asuka has been experimenting with animal blood to find a substitute for human blood.”

        “Is it going well?” Shun asks, getting his hopes up.

        He knows the science behind vampires.  He was taught that in Advanced Biology in high school.  Vampires were once humans, who evolved into bloodsuckers after a food shortage that wiped half the world population.  They got their nutrients from drinking human blood and since then, they evolved into stronger, faster beings that could kill a human easily.  

        “No,” Grace continues, “It just isn’t the same.  The nutrition isn’t enough, even when they mix different types of animal blood together.  They still need our blood.”

        There goes Shun’s hope.  It runs away like blood down a sink, or… in this case, a vampire’s throat.

        A few hours pass with no word from their masters.  Dennis plays the piano while Grace and Gloria sing softly to fill the quiet night.  Shun ends up sitting with Yuuya again and they talk about what Yuuya’s life was like growing up in a Purebred district.

        “Hey, Yuuya,” Shun interrupts after an hour or so in.  He stopped listening two minutes in but Yuuya either hadn’t noticed or he just didn’t care enough to stop talking. “Can I ask you something?”

        “Sure!” Yuuya beams, excited that Shun has started listening again.

        “Do Pets ever… Play with each other?” Shun asks.  When Yuuya looks confused, he rephrases, “Do Pets ever get intimate with each other?  Like kiss or cuddle or… have sex?”

        Yuuya laughs, “Why?  Do you think the twins are cute or something?  Gloria is strict but she might let you kiss her if you ask her really nicely.”

        “Just tell me, Yuuya,” Shun presses.

        “Well… They can, I guess.” Yuuya mumbles.

        “Will you… kiss me?” Shun asks, his heart racing.

        This is wrong, Shun knows it.  He just wants to make Sora jealous.  He wants Sora to get mad and yell at him.  He wants to know that Sora loves him just as much as he loves Sora.

        Shun wants… He wants to know if what he feels for Sora is real.  If he felt no spark between him and Yuuya, wouldn’t that mean something?  Wouldn’t that be another indication, among the many that already stood clear, that he was in love with Sora?

        Yuuya’s eyes widen at Shun’s request.  Reiji has always given him a lot of free reign but something like this would only upset him.  Yuuya didn’t want to upset his master, not at all.

        “A kiss?” Yuuya mumbles, “I suppose it will be okay.”

        Shun smiles a little and leans in to kiss Yuuya.  Yuuya’s lips are soft and he tastes almost like strawberries.  Shun kisses Yuuya a little harder, testing the waters a little further.  Yuuya’s hands find their way to Shun’s chest, gripping at the fabric of Shun’s shirt to pull him closer.

        There is no spark.  There’s no magic, no tingling, nothing…  It’s just a kiss, a meaningless one.  Maybe not meaningless, it was just empty.  This kiss still held the meaning of Shun’s true feelings, of his desire and love for Sora.

        Just when Shun’s head starts to spin, from the lack of oxygen rather than electricity, the door swings open.  He and Yuuya look up in time to see Reiji and Sora standing in the doorway.

        “Yuuya,” Reiji scolds, trying to keep his voice composed.  Shun can still hear an edge of shock to it. “Come here.”

        Yuuya follows his orders like the obedient little pet that he was.  He skips over to Reiji’s side and clung to his waist, “Master.”

        Reiji shoots Shun a dirty look. “Yuuya, I’m kind to you aren’t I?”

        Yuuya nods.  He keeps the smile on his face but Shun could see fear in Yuuya’s eyes.  He looks so much like a dog that was being scolded by his owner.  It makes Shun feel a little sick.

        “I do not ask for much, do I?” Reiji asks of him.

        Yuuya shakes his head.

        “Then why do I catch you with a mutt?”

        “I’m sorry, Master,” Yuuya cries, burying his face into Reiji’s chest. “I just wanted to play and have some fun.”

        “I’ll have to punish you, now,” Reiji scolds. “You know how much I hate to have to discipline you.”

        Yuuya sniffs a little, tears in his eyes.  He follows Reiji out of the room like a dog with his tail between his legs.  Shun turns his attention to Sora.  He knows that he is about to get scolded too.

        “You…” Sora begins after he has to forcibly drag Shun out into the empty hall. “You’ve embarrassed me in front of another noble.  You aren’t supposed to touch another noble’s pet.”

        Shun smiles, wanting to try to challenge Sora further, “We were just doing what dogs do,” Shun retorts, sarcastically, “So what if we had a little fun?”

        Sora shakes so much that he can barely speak. “I try my best with you, don’t you know that?  You should be happy.  No other Mutt would even dare to dream about a life like yours.  I give you everything you want—”

        “I don’t have my freedom,” Shun interjects. “You promised that I could see my sister but you seem to have forgotten that.”

        “Stop fooling around.  You didn’t do this because you want freedom,” Sora spits.

        “Fine,” Shun says, he stands taller to tower over Sora.  Somehow he still feels small even when he was so much taller than Sora was. “I want to know the truth.  How much have you been hiding from me?  Why do you let me drink your blood?”

        It’s Sora’s turn to feel small now.  He was hoping that Shun wouldn’t catch on. “It heals you,” Sora says.  His voice wavers with uncertainty as he speaks, “I can’t let you die.  Your blood is too delicious.”

        “It’s more than that,” Shun continues. “Vampires only share their blood with someone that they really care about.  It creates a strong bond between them that can’t be broken.  Even some lovers won’t dare do it.”

        “It’s normal to share your blood with a pet,” Sora lies.

        “No it’s not.  Tell me why you shared your blood with me.  I’ll go ask Akaba if you won’t answer me.”

        Sora flinches.  If anyone knew that he had fed his blood to Shun, his life could very well be over. “I dare you to,” Sora challenges, bluffing Shun.  He doesn’t believe that Shun would and even if he tried, Sora could easily stop him.

        Shun begins to walk away but Sora grabs his wrist tightly.  Shun was no match for the little vampire’s strength so he doesn’t even bother to fight him.

        “Why do you think that he’ll listen to you now, Shun?  After you defiled his pet?  Akaba Reiji will never do you a favor for as long as you live,” Sora spits.

        “Then tell me the truth.  Don’t I deserve that?” Shun doesn’t want to beg but it sounds like he is.

        “I…” Sora couldn’t even finish his sentence.  He didn’t know what to say.  Even he didn’t know why he felt so compelled to let Shun drink his blood.

        “Fine,” Shun mutters quietly. “Don’t come to me anymore, I won’t share a single drop of blood with you until you tell me the truth.”

        The night is hard, they lie in the same bed with no more distance between them than a foot and a half.  Shun could reach out and touch him, kiss him, hold him…  He could reach over but the distance between them feels longer than that.  He feels like he put miles in between them.

        It’s the first night since Sora had first crawled into bed with Shun that Shun hasn’t held Sora close while they slept.  It’s the first night that Shun hasn’t stroked his head until he fell asleep, the first night that they’re apart like this.  It makes Shun feel so lonely.

        He was so stupid.  Everything he did was stupid.  He didn’t stop to think even once before he asked Yuuya to kiss him.  He just wanted Sora to pay attention to him, to love him, to confess to him.

        He messed everything up.

        He can’t fall asleep, as much as he wants the day to end.  All that Shun could hear was the banging of the headboard against his wall.  Bang, bang, bang.  Over and over, with a few of Yuuya’s little moans and whimpers scattered in between.  Shun pulls the covers over his head to try and muffle out some of the noise.  He hears one final, loud bang before there is silence.

        It isn’t long before there is a knock on the door.  Shun expects that Reiji has finally come to scold him for touching Yuuya.  Instead, Shun is met with round, crimson eyes and a smile that was as blinding as the sun.

        “Shun,” Yuuya smiles.  His voice has an edge of hoarseness to it that Shun would rather ignore after over hearing what he and Reiji had just been up to, “I’m hungry.  Do you want to get something to eat with me?”

        Shun would’ve turned down the answer but Yuuya has already grabbed hold of his wrist and has already started to lead him down to the kitchen.

        Yuuya wasn’t lying when he said that he was hungry.  Shun has never seen someone eat that much all at once.

        “I always get so hungry when Reiji feeds from me,” Yuuya says between mouthfuls as he clears his first plate. “Don’t you?”

        “Yeah,” Shun agrees, taking a bite of his own meal.  It’s not as good as what Sora’s cook usually made for him.

        “Mmm,” Yuuya mumbles through another bite.  He looks so pale from all the blood loss. “Did you get punished too?”

        “Sora practically chewed my ear off,” Shun mutters.  He hates when Sora scolded him.

        “I’m sorry,” Yuuya apologizes.

        “It was my idea,” Shun says.  He feels bad for getting Yuuya into trouble.  Yuuya is too sweet for his own good.  Shun shouldn’t be so harsh towards him “I asked you to kiss me.  That’s all my fault, not yours.”

        “Why did you want to kiss me?” Yuuya asks, innocently.

        “I just wanted…” Shun pauses, he isn’t used to calling Sora his ‘master’. “I just wanted my Master to notice me.”

        “Oh,” Yuuya nods his head in understanding. “I know that feeling.  I get upset when Reiji doesn’t give me attention either.”

        “Are you happy, Yuuya?” Shun asks. “Are you really happy with Reiji?”

        Yuuya nods. “Of course.”

        “There’s so much more out there, Yuuya.  Reiji treats you like… like you’re a possession to him.”

        “I am his possession,” Yuuya interrupts. “I’m his Pet.”

        “It’s not supposed to be that way,” Shun continues. “You’re a human being, a person.  You don’t belong to anyone but yourself.  Yuuya, he is controlling you.”

        “I…,” Yuuya starts to fidget. “He’s all I know and all I have.”

        “Yuuya,” Shun shakes his head. “Listen to me on this.  You deserve better than Reiji.  You deserve to have a real, true life.  One that’s yours and no one else's.”

        Yuuya is quiet for the rest of their meal.  He doesn’t speak until it’s time to go and he doesn’t speak until he leaves Shun at his door.

        Shun ends up going to bed feeling sicker than he’s ever felt.

        The next day starts off with Sora ignoring him for the most part.  They speak to each other, but it’s mostly clipped and cut sentences.  There’s a tension between them that leaves Shun feeling unsettled.  They were going to fight, he can feel it in his stomach and in his blood.  They were going to fight worse than they ever had before.

        The tension gets thicker and more suffocating as the minutes pass, until Shun feels like he’s choking on it.  

        “Shun,” Sora orders, “Go fetch Yuuri.  He’s late for our next meeting.”

        Shun doesn’t argue, he’s just glad to put some space between him and Sora.

        “Oh and Shun,” Sora calls after him. “After the meeting is over, Reiji will issue your punishment to you.”

        Shun hides his disgust until he’s out in the hallway.  If the punishment is anything like what Reiji puts Yuuya through, then Shun would much rather get a whipping.  He’d gladly take fifty whippings over that, even a hundred or more.

        It’s not too hard to find Yuuri’s room since Yuuya has pointed it out every time they’ve ever passed it by.  Shun stands outside and pauses to take a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he knocks on the door.  He hears a quiet ‘come in’ and he follows the instructions.

        Shun can’t help but stare as he walks in.  He happens to have walked in on another feeding.  He’s seen a feeding in person before, just once.  Back then he had tried not to stare but now the curiosity has gotten the better of him.  It burns hot in his chest, stirring up the thoughts in his head like creamer in hot coffee.

        Dennis looks lost in ecstasy as Yuuri bites into his shoulder.  Dennis gasps, leaning his head back and groaning while Yuuri’s hand slips into the front of his pants.  Yuuri isn’t silence either.  He moans quietly, drinking more and more of Dennis’ hot blood.

        Shun wonders if that’s what he and Sora look like whenever Sora fed from him.  Like lovers caught in an intimate embrace, rather than a vampire with his pet slave.  Dennis and Yuuri look almost sweet together.

        _Almost._ Shun knows better than that.  He could see the way that Yuuri’s hands moved, bending Dennis in every which way that he pleased.  He manipulated Dennis, using pleasure to make Dennis obey his every command.

        Yuuri breaks away from Dennis with a satisfied sigh, licking his red blood off his full, pink lips.  He smiles, half sweetly, half annoyed, up at Shun.

        “I don’t like to be interrupted during my feedings,” Yuuri sighs, leaning down to lick Dennis’ wounds closed, “What do you want that is so important that you had to knock on my door?”

        “The other nobles are waiting for you in the entertainment hall,” Shun explains.  He stutters over the words, his head still foggy from what he had just witnessed.

        Yuuri’s smile widens, curling up until he looks like a cat with a rat caught in its paws. “You look curious.  Was that your first time witnessing a feeding?  What was it like, tell me.”

        Shun swallows.  He can’t describe it in words or in feelings.

        “Was it hot?  Is your blood racing, are your knees weak?  Tell me, Shun, do you want to feel it too?  Do you want to feel my teeth sinking into your soft skin, breaking it and drinking the precious, hot liquid that keeps you breathing?”

        “My master would be upset,” Shun says, trying to control his tone.  His voice is too close to choking.

        “Your master,” Yuuri almost spits the word, “Hasn’t trained you very well at all.  As a noble and his superior, I’m allowed to do what I feel is required to discipline you.”

        “The other nobles have been waiting for you,” Shun reminds. “You shouldn’t leave them waiting.”

        Yuuri sighs, disappointed. “You’re right.  I’ll let you think about my offer, Shun,” he says, standing.  He crosses the room until he stands barely three inches away from Shun. “I’ve never tasted a mutt’s blood before, I’m curious.  If you want, my offer is always open.”

        Shun swallows, taking a step away from Yuuri.  Yuuri sighs, disappointed.  He turns to leave out the door, turning his head to check on Dennis quickly before he left.

        Dennis groans, standing up.  He rubs the healing wound on his neck, still sensitive from Yuuri’s sharp teeth. “You interrupted,” he mutters under his breath at Shun, “I wasn’t done yet.”

        Shun glares at Dennis, frowning. “You’ll live.”

        “Hey, that’s not very nice of you.  You interrupted, the least you could do is make up for it.”

        “I’m not going to make up for anything.”

        Dennis frowns, glaring up at Shun.  He’s still hard from when Yuuri fed from him and he wanted some sort of relief.  Yuuri hadn’t had a chance to be finished with him before he got up to leave; now he was stuck here with that uncomfortable strain in his pants.

        Dennis crosses the short space between him and Shun. “Don’t you want to get back at your master?  Hmm?  Isn’t that why you kissed Yuuya?  You wanted your master to be angry at you, you wanted to make him mad.  Won’t I work just as well, or was it Akaba’s attention that you wanted?”

        Shun bares his teeth. “ _Enough_.”

        “Come on, Shun.  How much could it hurt?”

        Dennis runs his fingers over Shun’s collar, his fingers slipping into Shun’s shirt to prod at his skin.  He grips Shun’s collar, pulling Shun down into a kiss.  He moans, his body begging for relief from this inescapable heat.

        Dennis backs Shun up into the wall behind them.  Shun doesn’t fight or try to break away.  He just lets Dennis touch him wherever Dennis wanted.

        “Let me just…” Dennis murmurs as he tries to pull at Shun’s clothes, “Take these off for you.”

        “Don’t,” Shun pushes him away. “Don’t touch me.”

        The insulted look on Dennis’ face makes Shun want to laugh.  

        “Fine,” Dennis mutters. “Leave then, I’ll take care of it myself.”

        Shun takes the advice and turns to walk out the door. “I hope you aren’t loud, Dennis,” he mocks, stifling laughter to himself, “These walls are so paper thin.”

        Shun gets a pillow to the head for that one but it was worth it.  He had never really liked Dennis so this felt like some kind of victory to him.  


	7. If This Is What You Want

 The punishment that comes after the meeting is swift.  Shun sits in the lounge, peering through a random book he had found to pass the time.  When the meeting is over, Reiji and Sora enter the small lounge and the whole room is emptied of humans and vampires aside from himself, Reiji and Sora.

        “Shun,” Sora begins, his voice shakes a little. “Because of your misbehavior, I have to punish you.  However, Reiji has deemed me… unfit for disciplining you so he will discipline you himself.  He will drink your blood as your punishment.”

        Shun stares at Sora momentarily.  He can’t believe that Sora would let this kind of thing happen.  How could he?  Didn’t Shun mean anything to him at all?

        Shun doesn’t get any say in the matter.  Reiji sits on the luxury sofa, patting the space next to him until Shun complies and follows the new order.  He sits next to Reiji, removing his collar and shirt so that Reiji could do as he pleased.

        Reiji’s teeth are sharper than Sora’s.  They pierce through Shun’s skin so easily as if his skin meant nothing more than room temperature butter did to a knife.  Shun groans, leaning his head back as the warm sensation began to fill his body.

        Reiji’s hands are rough against him, pulling at his clothes and at his shoulders, to get a better grip.  Shun can feel Sora’s eyes on him, on his face, to read his every expression.  Shun wants to give him a show, to moan and sigh in pleasure just to make Sora angry.

        He does.  He guides Reiji’s hand down between his legs and lets Reiji strokes him, rubbing hard until Shun’s blood is hot enough to burn him.  Shun tries to silence his moans by biting into the back of his hand to keep quiet.  Reiji takes it from him, removing his hand so that his moans echo through the room again.

        Shun knows that he’s losing too much blood.  His head is spinning like an old record and his body is trembling.  He knows that they need to stop but he didn’t want to.  He wants Reiji to bleed him dry, to drink until there was nothing left for Sora, until Sora felt sick with that same horrible feeling Shun had whenever they looked each other in the eye.

        “That’s enough.  You had your fill, you’re going to kill my pet,” Sora snaps at Reiji.

        Reiji finally lets Shun go, dropping him into a heap on the floor.  Shun is too weak to pick himself back up, to care to want to stand again.  He wants to lie there, to sleep and never wake up.  He wants to go back to all of those sweet dreams that never lasted.

        “Your taste never changes, Shiun’in,” Reiji comments as he stepped over Shun. “His blood is too sweet for me.”

        “You’re satisfied now, aren’t you?  You’ve shown him his lesson,” Sora mutters.

        “Next time, keep him on a shorter leash.  If he touches my pet again, I’ll drain him dry,” Reiji answers.

        Sora nods obediently.  Whether he likes it or not, Akaba Reiji has more power over him, more control.  He isn’t allowed to disobey or to fight with him.  He has to hold his tongue and hold back his anger.

        Sora drops to his knees by Shun’s head as soon as Reiji is gone.  He lifts Shun’s head up and into his lap, cradling him very carefully, “Shun?  Are you okay?” he wonders, concern clear in his worried tone.

        “Leave me alone,” Shun mutters.

        Sora sighs in relief, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

        Sora bites himself, slicing into his skin until he was bleeding.  He lifts his bleeding arm up to Shun’s mouth, coaxing him to drink.  Shun latches on automatically, drinking Sora’s blood.  Sora moans, groaning as Shun bites him into him hard.

        “Stop,” Sora mutters, his head is starting to spin from the blood loss. “You’re taking too much.”

        Shun doesn’t want to let go, he wants more and more of Sora’s blood until the aching in his body finally stopped.  Sora tears away, leaving Shun trembling for just another drop.

        “I haven’t eaten since we fought,” Sora admits, “I’m already so weak… You took so much.”

        Shun blinks through the haze in his head, coming down from the high of Sora’s blood. “I’m weak too,” Shun mutters, “Because you let Akaba Reiji drink from me.”

        “I had no choice,” Sora reminds. “You played with his pet.”

        “You’re such a coward,” Shun spits.

        “Maybe if you were in my place, you would understand.”

        “What about my place?  I’m nothing but a plaything for you.  I’m just fresh blood, a walking blood pack to you.  People treat their pet dogs better.”

        “I treat you well,” Sora insists. “Don’t I?”

        “You let Akaba use me.”

        “What was I supposed to do?  Even if I said no, he would have still punished you.  You know that Reiji has more power than I do.  If I had tried to stop him, it would only anger him even more.  You’d be dead by now.”

        Shun glares at Sora for a long moment. “Just… leave me alone,” he shakes his head, “I don’t want to talk to you.”

***

They head home before dawn breaks, which Shun can’t be more thankful for.  He’s tired of being in that place, surrounded by vampires and humans that did nothing more than make him feel sick and disgusted.

        The turns they take are unfamiliar to Shun.  He isn’t bad with directions, even though he’s travelled from Reiji’s mansion to Sora’s only once, Shun knows this isn’t the way home.

        Or is it…?  After a few more turns, the roads look familiar.  The buildings, the scenery.  Shun turns to look at Sora, feeling confused.

        “You said that you wanted to see your sister again,” Sora says quietly. “I trust you enough to let you now.”

        They finally pull up at Shun’s street.  It’s unnerving to know that they’re aware of it’s location but Shun doesn’t want to think of that now.  Right now all he wants is Ruri.  

        He doesn’t bother to say goodbye, as soon as they stop, he flings himself from the car.  He barely takes the time to look both ways before he crosses the street to his old apartment building.  He runs up the stairs in less than a thirty seconds for all three flights.  Before he realizes it, he’s at his old door with the stupid crack in it from when he hit it trying to lug their couch through the narrow doorway.

        He hesitates to knock.  In all his excitement, he’s forgotten that Ruri hasn’t seen him in over six months.  She doesn’t know what happened to him, she must think that he’s dead.  He’s scared to see her now, afraid of what it will do to her.

        He knocks after all.  He thinks that he can give her some peace of mind this way.  Knowing that her brother was alive was better than thinking that he was dead in some ditch somewhere.  At least, he hoped it would help her.

        When Ruri opens the door, there’s a cast-iron frying pan waiting in her hand, ready to knock out any creep that would knock on the door at this hour at half past two in the morning.

        Her jaw drops when she sees her older brother standing in the doorway.  She drops the pan, it thuds as it hits the ground.  She doesn’t hesitate a single second before she wraps her arms around him, hugging him tight.

        “I missed you, Ruri,” Shun murmurs as he holds her close, hugging her with all the ache in his heart from missing her for so long.

        She pulls him into the house where she smacks him hard across the shoulder.

        “Nice to know you missed me too,” Shun attempts to joke.

        “I thought you were dead!” Ruri wants to scream at him, but she wants to avoid the neighbors interfering so she hushes herself. “You were gone for more than six months!”

        “I’m sorry,” Shun apologizes.

        “Explain yourself,” Ruri demands, “Now.”

        “I can’t,” Shun shakes his head. “I’ve gotten into something dangerous and if I tell you, I’m worried they’ll find you and hurt you.”

        “You…,” Ruri trails off as tears fill her eyes.  She shakes her head as the tears flow down her cheeks. “What did you do this time?”

        “I’m sorry,” Shun says again. “They’re letting me see you again.  I guess… to say goodbye to you.”

        “That’s all I get?  A goodbye?  You’re my big brother!  My only family!” Ruri sobs, her shoulders shaking.  She takes a big breath to try to calm herself a little.

        “I know that, Ruri.  I don’t want to leave you either,” Shun promises.

        Ruri sniffs, wiping away a tear. “I miss you, Big Brother.  I miss you everyday.”

        “I miss you too,” Shun wants to cry now too, instead he pulls her close and kisses her head the way their father used to kiss her goodbye, “I’m sorry, Ruri.  I’m so sorry.  I don’t know what else to say.”

        “Are you happy, Big Brother?” Ruri asks. “I’ll be okay if you’re happy.”

        “I… I am,” Shun promises.

        It wasn’t a lie.  He loved Sora, he could admit that now.  He loved Sora and even if Sora didn’t love him back, he could live with that.  He could be happy as long as Sora wanted him around.

        When Shun says his ‘goodbyes’ and ‘I love you’s, he starts to cry.  He walks back to Sora’s awaiting car and breaks down in it.  Sora holds his hand gently and strokes his back softly.

        “I miss her,” Shun cries pathetically.

        “I know,” Sora murmurs, “I know.”


	8. Then Fire At Will

When they get home, Shun is worn out.  He’s been through too much in the past few days, few weeks, few months.  He just wants to find peace.  He wants to close his eyes and wake up to a happier dream.

        “Shun, can we talk?” Sora asks him.

        “Mm,” Shun agrees, barely.  Not much can be said for a man that lay face first into a pile of pillows.

        “Your behaviour… Reiji will be angry if you continue like this,” Sora says quietly, “I don’t want him to force me to have you removed.”

        “Why?” Shun asks, “Why do you even care?  Every time I try to ask you a question, you dodge it.”

        “I don’t dodge it,” Sora defends himself.

        “Why do you let me drink your blood then?  Why do you try to heal me whenever I’m sick?  Why do you look at me like that?  Why did you let me see my sister?  Why, why, why?” Shun asks, lifting himself up to glare at Sora. “Oh wait, I bet you don’t have an answer.  I bet you just have another sorry excuse.”

        Sora is quiet for a moment before he starts to sob, “You want the truth?  You won’t be happy with it.”

        “Yes,” Shun sighs, “I want the truth.”

        “I love you, okay?” Sora admits the words that Shun has been dying, literally and figuratively, to hear. “I love you.”

        Shun feels so shocked to hear them that for a moment, he can’t speak.

        “It’s a death sentence for both of us.  I love you and it will kill us both.”

        There’s no words left to describe how Shun feels in that very moment.  He can’t express his thoughts or feelings through words alone.  His heart feels like a hummingbird, singing and thrumming inside of his chest.  It all feels like a dream and Shun prays to any God that would listen to a sinner like him to please, let him never wake up from it, not when he was finally so close to happiness.

        Shun can’t find the words so he closes the space between them, pulling Sora close and kissing him like they were lovers who have been separated for centuries or even eons.  There’s so much passion in their kiss that they end up in bed together, pulling clothes away like melting cotton candy in a warm kiss.

        Shun doesn’t know when this had stopped being lustful sex and when it had turned into making love.  Their touches, although still heated, had lost so much of their initial roughness.  The passion hadn’t died or diminished, it felt like it had grown, blossoming into a beautiful rose.

        The magic in it wasn’t in the pleasure anymore, although the pleasure still coursed through every single vein and reached every single cell, Shun found more pleasure in Sora’s pleasure.  Before this, it had been a selfish fight between them over who felt the most ecstasy.

        Now it felt more like a dance between them.  Shun had never been good at dancing and he doubt that he’s any good at this either but… The way that Sora looks at him makes him feel like he’s the whole world and even more.

        He finds so much pleasure it the way that Sora holds him, firm but not rough.  He holds Shun like he never wants to let go and Shun doesn’t want him to.  The way his hands grip Shun’s shoulders, his back, his waist, his hips… It’s all that Shun wants in this moment.  At times their hands find each other and their fingers entwine in such a way that made it seem like they were meant to fit together like puzzle pieces.

        The way that Sora’s kisses taste is indescribable.  Sweet in its own way and addictive the way his blood could be too.  Shun’s surprised by the way he tastes so much sweeter after Sora has reached his peak.

        Sora leaves kisses into the crook of Shun’s neck, small and delicate.  There’s no teeth, no venom, no blood, there isn’t a need for any of it.  All Shun wants are Sora’s kisses all over his skin.

        The way that Sora calls his name leaves Shun trembling.  Soft and quiet like a whisper but filled with so much emotion and so much love.  For the first time, Shun can clearly hear all the love in his voice.  It’s enough to leave him shaking.

        Shun doesn’t know when they stop or when the pleasure begins to wean.  They don’t pull away from each other.  Their love making evolves from dancing to a slow steady embrace that neither of them when to end.

        Shun loves him.  He knows he’s weak and he knows that this has too many consequences that could lead to both of their deaths but Shun cannot help but love him.  As imperfect as Sora was, Shun couldn’t find any imperfection in him that he could not love.

        Maybe, in some ways, Sora was imperfect.  Shun’s heard so many people say that about him.  He’s heard so many people say awful things and look down on Sora.  However, in Shun’s eyes, Sora was nothing less than pure perfection.

        “I love you,” Shun promises, kissing Sora’s eyes. “I love you so much.”

        “We can’t do this, Shun,” Sora murmurs quietly. “They’ll kill us both.”

        “I know,” Shun whispers back, “I know.

***

It takes a few hours but Shun manages to get Sora to fall asleep.  It takes a lot of coaxing, gentle strokes down his bare back and kisses into his soft shoulders.  Shun hates to leave him in bed alone but he hasn’t eaten in hours and he needs to find something to fill his empty stomach.

        “Shun,” a woman’s voice calls, softly. “May I talk to you?”

        It’s the maid from Shun’s first night here.  He doesn’t know her name or much about her.  She stayed quiet mostly, sticking to her duties rather than interfere with anyone else’s daily patterns.

        “I suppose,” Shun sighs, food would have to wait awhile.

        The maid gestures for Shun to follow her through the hallways where she finally leads him into the small broom closet at the end of the hall by the stairs.  There’s barely enough room for them both inside of it but Shun manages to put about six inches of space between them by pressing himself up against the shelves.

        “The things I tell you here are things you cannot repeat under any circumstance.  Not to a human nor vampire.  Do you understand that?” the maid makes Shun promise.

        Shun nods.  This woman sounds too much like an old teacher he had in his first year of high school.  A woman who would force you to do a headstand if you forgot to do your homework.  While Shun doubts that this maid would force him to do that, he doesn’t want to cross her.

        “I know that you and Sora are lovers,” she says quietly. “Don’t bother to deny it.”

Shun doesn’t deny it, he doesn’t say anything.  He’s been in trouble before and keeping silent was usually what bailed him out of it.

        “I won’t turn you in,” the maid promises.

        “Why?  Do you want something in exchange?” Shun asks, angrily.  So much for keeping quiet.

        “You could say that,” the maid shrugs her shoulders a little.  

        She bows her head downwards, obscuring her face from Shun’s view.  She sniffs, wiping away stray tears before she looks up again.

        “I’ve kept this a secret for a long time,” she says quietly, tears in her fragile voice, “Sora is not who you think he is.”

        “Then who is he?”

        “He’s… my son,” the maid admits, “A half-human, half-vampire hybrid.  He’s the product of my affair with his father.

        You see, his father is a flirt, a sweet-talking charmer.  He trapped me into a relationship with him.  I was like his Pet, but I thought I was his lover.”

        “Sora isn’t like him,” Shun defends, “He isn’t anything like him.”

        “Let me finish,” the maid snaps. “Madam Shiun’in had trouble getting pregnant.  I however, found out that I was pregnant two months into my affair.  I knew what the punishment was and I attempted to get rid of the baby myself, but I was caught.  Because Madam Shiun’in couldn’t have a child, it was decided that I would carry mine to full term so that my child could pretend to masquerade as Madam Shiun’in’s own child.”

        “You’re telling me that Madam Shiun’in pretended to be pregnant so that she could take your child and pass Sora off as her own?  I don’t believe you,” Shun shakes his head in disbelief.  She didn’t sound like she was lying but Shun just couldn’t comprehend that.  He didn’t want to comprehend it. “That’s absurd.”

        “There’s proof right in front of your eyes every night!  Look at Sora and tell me that he’s a normal vampire.  He has a kindness and a warmth that vampires are too apathetic for.  He eats human food.  He’s smaller, weaker and slower than the others.  He has a ‘learning disability’ that is nothing more than a slower processing skill than the average vampire.  He is half-human, half imperfect to their world.”

        Shun shakes his head, still in denial.

        “His father doesn’t love him like he should, Shun,” the maid presses. “He sees Sora as a defect, a break in the chain of their royal bloodline.  Sora is nothing more than a mistake in his eyes, a burden.”

        “Why are you telling me all this?” Shun asks.

        “Because,” the maid steps forward to stare Shun in the eyes, “I want you to take him and run.  I want you to run away as fast and as far as you can.  There is nothing for my son here.  I was never allowed to protect him when he was a child, but I want to protect him now.  Take him away and give him a good life.  Make him happy.”

        “How can I?” Shun wonders. “Won’t they find us?”

        “All we can do is pray,” the maid bows her head.  She take a few steps away, leaving Shun alone in the small broom closet to think things through.

        Shun finds his way back to Sora, back to their warm bed that they had made love in just a few hours ago.  He lays down next to his ‘Master’ and kisses his back and neck gently.

        He would protect Sora.  He’d do all he could to make him happy and keep him safe.  That was all he wanted in this moment.  Ruri was a grown woman now and Shun knew that she would thrive on her own.  Now it was Sora’s turn and Shun would pour love into him until Sora could love himself too.


	9. I Lost My Fear Of Falling

Not a day passes without the worry that they will be caught.  Shun wants to ask Sora to run away with him but he’s too afraid to.  It isn’t a good time, they aren’t prepared.  They need a plan and a strategy to make it out of here alive.

        “My father is coming home for the weekend,” Sora tells Shun as they settle into bed for the night.  He yawns and buries his face into Shun’s chest, snuggling up close. “Reiji is going to visit this weekend too.”

        “Oh?” Shun strokes Sora’s back, “Why?”

        “Reiji wants to see me in person,” Sora explains, already beginning to doze off on Shun, “About… Something important…”

        Shun feels his stomach twist in a knot.  He can’t shake the feeling of dread.  He can’t help but feel as if he and Sora have been caught or worse.  He doesn’t want to consider it anymore.  There is always so much to worry about.  It’s another night of restless sleep for him as he worries about what will become of him and Sora.

        “I’m kind of excited to see my father again,” Sora says over breakfast the next morning as he drinks blood from his latest mug, a mermaid themed one with imagery of a happy mermaid in the arms of a sailor on the beach. “It’s been a while.”

        “Yeah,” Shun murmurs as he strokes the back of Sora’s hand gently, “It’s been a while.”

        “You sound tired,” Sora notices and points out.

        “I’m just worried about something,” Shun admits.

        “Don’t be,” Sora says gently. “We’ll be okay.”

        “I hope you’re right.”

        They stare at each other for a long moment before Sora is called away to meet Reiji in their small office room.  Shun sits and stares at his plate of food in front of him, having lost his interest in eating any of it.

        “Shun” a man’s voice calls him, it’s chilling enough to run a shudder down Shun spine.  He turns towards it, feeling the blood drain from his face as he turns to face Sora’s father.

        “Master Shiun’in,” Shun stumbles on the words.

        “Let me get a look at you now.  Stand,” the man orders.

        Shun does as he’s told.  Sora’s father was not someone that Shun wanted to mess with.  As brave and stupid as Shun was, he knew that a confrontation with him would most likely end with Shun’s death and Sora’s heart broken.

        The man scoffs and laughs, “You really are a Mutt.  So dingy and dirty looking,” he says with a shake his head, “You really are worthy of my son.”

        Sora’s father spits so much venom into his words when he speaks of his son.  Shun can’t help but feel angry at him for it.

        “No,” Sora’s father changes his mind, “My son is such a disappointment.  You deserve better than him.  I deserve better than just another tarnish on my family name.  A Mutt!  All my son is worth is a Mutt.  I never bothered to breed him a purebreed to be his Pet because I knew he didn’t deserve one.  It’s not like he can even get one, considering his heritage.”

        “Heritage?” Shun asks.

        “My son is such a disappointment, I don’t even want to call him my son,” Sora’s father shakes his head. “My ex-wife had a breeding problem herself and she couldn’t have kids.  What a waste of my time.  She gave me no heir to my throne.  Instead, I get Sora, a burden on my name.”

        Shun wants to punch him, he feels so angry.

        “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m telling you all this but I assume you know the truth.  Everyone seems to know the truth except for Sora himself.  He’s an interbreed, a stain on the family crest.  A rotten apple amongst ripe pomegranates,” Sora’s father laughs dryly. “But no more.  I have a new heir on the way.  A new child to take my throne, my name, my honor and my dignity.  Miu, my daughter, has finally been born by my new wife, Himika.”

        “Miu?” Shun wonders aloud, “You’ve had another child?”

        “Yes, finally.  I’ll raise her to make the Shiun’ins proud.  I can finally end my shame.”

        Shun feels sick to his stomach. “End your shame?”

        “Of course, I will end my son’s existence,” Sora’s father laughs. “You may think I’m cruel but I promise you that I’m not _that_ cruel.”

        “You aren’t.  You’re a monster, you’re sick,” Shun spits. “You want to kill your own child.”

        “Kill him?” the man shakes his head. “In some ways, I suppose.  I want to be rid of him but I do not want his blood on my hands.  He may be a shame on my honor but he is still my son.  I’ll let him leave peacefully.  I suppose that you want your freedom too?  You’re free to leave now, I don’t have much need for you anymore.  You’re another expense I don’t want.”

        “Leave?” Shun echoes, “You’ll let us both leave?  Why?”

        “Because,” the man says, “It is the quietest way to remove Sora and leave room for my new daughter to take his place.  A death would cause suspicion, a death would cause talk.  I don’t wish death upon my own flesh and blood.  I just want him to slip away quietly so that I may raise my name from its ashes.”

        “Is that all you care about?  Your reputation?” Shun spits.

        “I love him, too,” the man admits with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “Not in the way that you or he would understand.  He is my son and I watched him grow into an adult.  I know I’m not the best father for him and that I’ve punished him for my mistakes but I do love him and I want the best for him.  The best for him isn’t what he has now.  He doesn’t want it and I don’t want him to have it.  It would be better for everyone if he leaves us.”

        Shun believes him.  Shiun’in Sr. knows that he has caused Sora so much grief and heartache but maybe this was his way of giving Sora what Sora deserved.  A chance to control his own life.

        Shiun’un Sr. was far from being a great father, or even a good one.  Shun can’t forget how painful his words towards Sora were.  That kind of pain couldn’t be erased.  Maybe… Maybe letting Sora go was all this man could do for his child.  Shun was sure that he knew that too.  


***  


When Shun finds Sora later in the office, Sora’s face is wet with tears.  He looks like he’s been crying until he couldn’t cry anymore tears.  His eyes are puffy and red, and his shirt sleeve is wet from trying to dry them away.

        “Shun,” his voice is hoarse when he speaks. “Reiji told me everything.  He told me the truth.  I’m not who I thought I was.”

        “I know,” Shun says quietly, pulling Sora into a tight embrace, “I already know everything.”

        “I’m not even a vampire,” Sora cries into Shun’s chest. “My mom isn’t my mom.  I have a sister now, too.  My father said that he just wants me to leave and Reiji told me to go too.”

        “I know,” Shun strokes Sora’s head. “You’ll be okay.  I’m here for you, Sora.”

        “I don’t know what to do.” Sora cries so much that it breaks Shun’s heart.

        “Sora, listen to me on this.  You deserve better than them.  You deserve to have a real, true life.  One that’s yours and no one else’s.”

        “Shun,” Sora cries pathetically, mumbling into Shun’s chest, “Can you take me to the beach like I asked you too?  I want to run away from it all.  I want to be happy, with you and your sister, Ruri.  I want to be me and not the lie that I was forced to be.”

        “Is that what you want, Sora?” Shun asks.

        “Yes,” Sora nods. “Take me home with you.”


	10. I Will Be With You

When Shun returns home to Ruri, with Sora and Ringo in tow, Ruri breaks down and cries in the middle of the living room floor.  She doesn’t say much at first, all she can do is hug Shun tight and, despite her hesitation at first, hug Sora too.

        Yuuto runs to their small apartment as soon as Ruri calls him with the good news.  He hugs them all, happy to have Shun home again, where he truly belonged.

        Shun gets to settle back into his old life, this time with a lover by his side.  He has to teach Sora so much but it’s worth it when he gets to watch Sora’s face light up whenever he successfully accomplishes something new.

        Although Sora has become more comfortable with a human diet after some adjustment.  Sora tries his hardest to embrace his human side.  He wants to learn how to be more human and to be more like Shun rather than the vampires that he had never liked.

        Some nights, Shun still feeds Sora his blood.  Shun still likes the high of Sora’s venom and Sora still liked the taste of Shun’s blood.  Now it was more of a treat for both of them, something they reserved for special occasions and special nights when they wanted to have some extra fun in bed.

        Shun decides one day that he wants to sign a new contract with Sora.  Another one to bind them together for life.  He wants to marry Sora so that he never has to let Sora go.  He wants to be Sora’s husband, to love Sora, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.  He wants life with Sora, and whatever comes after that too.  So they decide to leave out the ‘til death do we part’.

        He knows that despite leaving his old life behind that Sora is much happier.  He doesn’t have those horrible nightmares anymore.  Now all he has is blissful sleep and sweet dreams.  

        Sora is free of control, of manipulation and heartache.  He gets to be himself, he gets to be happy.  He gets to be himself.  Shun couldn’t be any happier than he is now, with Sora smiling at him every morning and smiling at him every night.

        All Shun’s life he grew up lonely.  He grew up wanting companionship, a friend, a lover.  He found it in a place he wasn’t looking for it in.  He found it in a place he shouldn’t have been looking for it in.  He found love with someone who he had hated at first, but he grew to love Sora with such an intensity that the sun’s heat couldn’t even compete with his feelings.

        Whenever Shun looks into Sora’s round, green eyes, Shun knows that he’s where he should be.  He’s with the person that he loves, surrounded by family and friends.  He has all he ever wanted, all he ever dreamed of.  The best part of it is knowing that his dream is Sora’s dream too.

        In the end, they both got what they wanted.  They found love and happiness.  


***

The day is so windy, Shun can’t help but get caught up with staring at Sora’s hair as it flows in the wind.  The beach was so nice today, cold enough to prevent crowds but warm enough to take a dip in the ocean.  Shun shakes his head as he stares at his lover, enjoying his first time at the beach.

        “Shun,” Ruri says quietly, tapping him on the shoulder. “I’m going to head down to the little rock pools with Yuuto.  Why don’t you bring Sora with you later and I’ll show him the starfish and the anemones.  He’ll like getting to meet them all.”

        “Alright,” Shun promises. “Just be safe, okay?”

        “I will!” Ruri promises as she him waves goodbye.  She links her arm with Yuuto and they stroll away, down the beach into the sunset.

        It’s such a relaxing day, Shun feels so far away from the nightmares of control and manipulation.  He wasn’t a pet, he was just Sora’s husband.  Sure, he was still technically a slave but at least he was just a slave to corporation.  The one he worked for actually paid him well so he wouldn’t complain.

        Shun feels like he and Sora can be truly happy now.  He doesn’t regret what happened, since it lead him to Sora.  He wouldn’t change it for anything.  He has Sora and he has Ruri and Yuuto, that was all he wanted.  A happy family.

        “Shun!” a voice pipes and Shun feels like his whole world threatens to shatter at the sound of it.  Wasn’t that…?

        It was, it was Yuuya’s voice.  Yuuya bounces into view, smiling and waving the whole time.

        “Shun!” Yuuya smiles, breathless from running, “I can’t believe I ran into you again.”

        “What are you doing here?” Shun asks, worried that the past has come to cause more trouble.

        “I’m a free human being,” Yuuya announces happily, “Reiji set me free so that I could pursue my own happiness.”

        “He… He did?” Shun asks in disbelief.  Were they talking about the same Reiji?

        Yuuya nods furiously, “I talked to him about what you said.  He got really angry at first but I think he really thought it through.  He told me that he wasn’t being fair to me so he let me go.”

        “That’s amazing,” Shun mumbles, still caught in his doubt.

        “I know!  I got a job working on stage,” Yuuya laughs brightly. “I’m not acting yet but I’m making props and costumes.  It’s a lot of fun, you should come see us this weekend.”

        Shun finally returns Yuuya’s smile. “I’d like that, Yuuya.  I’m glad to hear that you’re happier now.”

        “Me too,” Yuuya smiles, he turns his head to watch Sora off in the distance, enjoying the briny air. “I’m glad that you both are happy now.”

        “Yeah, we are,” Shun smiles even wider. “I’ll see your show this weekend, then.”

        Yuuya beams and giggles. “Thanks, Shun.  You’ll be my guest of honor.”

        “Yuuya is around?” Sora asks when he and Shun walk along the beach later, hand in hand.

        “Yeah,” Shun says. “Reiji let him go.”

        “That makes me happy.  Yuuya is a nice person,” Sora smiles. “He deserves it.”

        “He really is,” Shun smiles.

        “Hey Shun, I’ve figured it out.  You taught me something really special when we first met, you know.”

        “Did I?”

        “You taught me about consent.  At first I didn’t understand it but now I do.  I don’t consent to what my life was like, but I do consent to what it is now.  I want to live life like this, with you and our family.  I want to be yours and for you to be mine, because we want to, not because we’re forced to.”

        Shun laughs lightly, stopping to kiss Sora’s forehead. “Will you consent to me carrying you across the beach too?”

        Sora laughs, locking his arms around Shun’s neck. “Carry me the whole way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading through all this. This was a huge project for me but I had a lot of fun with it. This is an au I've been wanting to write for almost two years and I finally got around to doing it. The Big Bang was the push I needed to finish this.
> 
> I have so many people to thank.   
> \- The Mods of the Big Bang, of course. They were so nice to me for some reason.   
> \- My Honey Bunny who helped motivate me and for being a supportive bae.  
> \- A big thanks to vanishing-rainias on tumblr (Reishiin on AO3) for helping me edit this. I had so many mistakes and things I overlooked so it really helped to have someone go through it for me. (Plus your comments on my fic made my day!)  
> \- fluffymoe on tumblr for drawing art for me. Her art is really awesome so please check her out. I flailed like a fangirl when I realized she picked my fic to draw for.  
> \- You too! Of course, since you made it this far. I really hoped you enjoyed reading this.
> 
> With much love, a small Toxi.


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